Ethereal Gates
by Amberdiamondswords
Summary: As an aging Zoni, Orvus knew that it was time to begin training an heir who would inherit the Great Clock. Thus leading to the birth of XJ-0461, a curious yet smart Zoni who gazed upon the outside universe that he could never reveal himself to. But he may overstep his boundaries when he secretly travels to Veldin and saves a lonely Lombax. AU story. (Cover art by kookychicken).
1. A Prince is Born

_Have I ever told you about my son?_

 _Remarkable boy. Quite smart!_

 _He was born here in the Great Clock, in the exact center of the universe. Give or take, fifty feet._

 _My son's name is XJ-0461._

 _But the Zoni know him as their prince._

* * *

 _Many years ago, a great tragedy occurred in the universe. As a result of a plethora of time paradoxes created by the Fongoid race, who had been blessed with the gift of time travel from the mystical Zoni race, a rift was ripped open in the time-space continuum, nearly leading to the extinction of all life and the destruction of all planets. In order to avoid this disaster, the leader of the Zoni race, Orvus, created a marvelous facility in the exact center of the universe, the "Great Clock". It was used to keep time in order, and dealt with any time anomalies or ripples or irregularities in the universe. However, with great power and great responsibility came great risk._

 _The clock, much like time itself, was a gift, and not to be tampered with. For one misuse of its powers could destroy the time-space continuum, and therefore the entire universe. That was why Orvus sheltered himself in the facility along with a good friend of his, to protect the clock from anyone who dared to take control of it and use it for their own selfish purposes. Armed with shields, teleportation, a Chronoscepter and millions of Zoni subjects, Orvus swore that he would protect his chamber, the Orvus Chamber, with his life._

 _However, Orvus knew that he would not be able to protect his chamber forever. No one could live forever, and that rule applied to the Zoni as well. He was an aging Zoni, and though he was still spry enough to take out any intruders, he knew that he needed to have a plan for when he would eventually disappear from the clock. Though he had full confidence in his faithful colleague, Sigmund, Orvus believed that a bigger step had to be made, and he knew just what direction to go in. And that was when the process of it all started. The process of bringing about an heir to the Zoni throne._

...

 **ACT I: "Royalty"**

"Sigmund! Sigmund, come quickly!"

At the call of a familiar voice, disproportionate yellow eyes shot up from his work. His long fingers paused while winding one of the many time cleaners that rattled as they began to work. In a fit of slight panic, the floating, garbage can-looking robot quickly wound the last time cleaner and placed it down so it could join its friends and go to work, then hovered out of the chamber to find his colleague.

Originally an ordinary janitorial bot from Planet Viceron, Sigmund had been found by Orvus many years ago and had been recruited to help take care of the Great Clock. It was a big responsibility to handle, yes, but he considered it an honor to work with Zoni King Orvus himself. But what was Orvus calling him for during a time like this? It must have been very important. Even though he was prone to it, Sigmund tried his best to refrain from freaking out. He was a very nervous robot.

Sigmund came to a halt when he exited one of the many chambers in the clock. He blinked as his gaze followed the bridge that sat in front of him. Its blue glass finish reflected the majesty that was the Great Clock. Golden chambers, buildings, and rings, Zoni fluttering about, sparks of time energy flowing gracefully through the air... it would be almost too much for someone who had not witnessed the clock's beauty. Sigmund looked up from the bridge and gasped a bit as he saw his good friend, Orvus, floating near the edge of the connecting platform. The little pink Zoni, dressed in a teal Zoni suit of protective armor and with his Chronoscepter in hand, had his eyes wandering about the scenery, as if he was taking in the Great Clock for the first time. He was the most powerful Zoni in the facility, yet he was also very gentle, and he liked to simply sit and watch his subjects zip about and the Clock work its magic. It was only when Sigmund approached him from behind that he managed to pull his eyes away.

"Afternoon, Sigmund," Orvus offered with a friendly tone and face.

"You called me, sir?" Sigmund asked, hovering up next to him.

"Indeed I did. And with good reason, too. See, today is a very special day, Sigmund."

"A very special day?" Sigmund dug through his memory banks to try and find what exactly this date meant. "Oh no! Wait, don't tell me! I know what it is, I… I umm… is it your birthday?"

"No no, my dear friend, that's not it," Orvus said with that strange chuckle of his. No one else in the universe had one quite like his. His bright turquoise eyes then seemed to shimmer with hope and excitement as he stared dreamily into the distance.

Sigmund raised an eyebrow as he studied his facial expression. He sure did seem happy about something. But what? What was today?

Orvus continued, "But, in a way, you were close. Today, Sigmund, is the day the Zoni prince shall be born once and for all. My friend, it is time to witness the birth of my son!"

Sigmund felt his figure slump a bit… or more like a lot. This was a familiar situation, one he didn't think would be happening after such a short time after the… last incident. Concern found its way into Sigmund's circuitry as he gathered himself and voiced his worries.

"Another attempt so soon, sir?" Sigmund said with a bit of anxiety in his voice. He also looked doubtful, as this was not the first time he had been told this. "Shouldn't you conserve your energy before you try again? I mean, the last one-"

The Zoni held up a hand and interrupted him, speaking in a tone that almost seemed tense, "This is no attempt. This time it's going to be the real deal. My son will be born today."

"Are you sure...? Because, well… the last few times you were really confident that it was going to work but… it just never happened. I don't want you to strain yourself, sir."

"I am one hundred percent sure and confident that it will work this time!" Orvus exclaimed, his voice firm and eyes filled with determination.

Orvus wasn't mad at Sigmund for doubting him. He very much understood Sigmund's concern for him when it came to him and creating his Zoni child. Four hundred and sixty times he had tried to bear a son from the energy of the Great Clock, but even after all the confidence he had gathered up all of those times, every result was the same: failure. The anomaly would sometimes be too unstable to live on its own or even take a proper figure. Other times Orvus would put too much energy into the anomaly and pass out from utter exhaustion. And some would just up and explode. He had been back to the drawing board so many times, trying to figure just the right balance of time energy and life force to create a stable offspring, but he never could come to a solid conclusion. Until today, that was.

Orvus was an intelligent being and very stubborn when it came to giving up hope. He had promised his unborn son that he would find the right way to bring him into life, and with the new calculations and formulas he had come up with, he believed that today was the day he could finally fulfill his promise. XJ-0042, XJ-0188, XJ-0325, he had failed all of them. But now it was time to give his hopefully soon-to-be son, XJ-0461, the gift of life.

Sigmund looked at Orvus, who was still holding a confident smile. Over four hundred times he had been through this. He knew that Orvus wasn't one for giving up, but Sigmund really wished that he would give it a rest sometimes. Still, Orvus was his colleague and friend, and Sigmund wasn't about to turn his back on him when he was feeling this confident. He guessed… the four hundred and sixty first time was the charm?

"Alright, sir, I believe you. Lead the way," Sigmund said with a hesitant smile.

"Splendid!" If Orvus was walking, he would most definitely have a skip in his step. He zipped a few feet forward before stopping and motioning Sigmund towards him. "Come Sigmund, we must not waste time! Eh, no pun intended, of course. To the Orvus Chamber!"

"Right, sir! Right behind you!"

Orvus zipped excitedly throughout the inner workings of the Great Clock, Sigmund managing to keep up even though the Zoni was going a bit faster. Orvus meant what he said. He just knew that this new formula would work. It had taken him days to simply consider where to start with a new equation on balancing time energy and life force, and he was barely able to keep a grip on reality when he began putting together a new hypothesis and coming to a new conclusion. It was only when he finally reached his new breakthrough that he was yanked back into the present and was able to acknowledge his surroundings again. Orvus was onto something this time. He had full confidence in himself, the Zoni assisting him, and even his unborn son.

The two, after rushing through the countless chambers, bridges, and platforms in the Clock, came to a slow hover as they approached a large chamber that sparkled with a glorious turquoise dome on top. This was it… the Orvus Chamber. The most important and protected chamber in the whole facility. It was this chamber that made protecting the clock necessary, for it contained the very core of the clock. Orvus flexed his fingers a bit before floating up to the reinforced steel double-doors. A golden lock kept the two shut, and only one person was able to open it. Orvus placed his small three fingered hands on the gold lock, which reacted by pulsating a bright light before separating into two, opening the doors. The two traveled inside and Sigmund awaited to hear Orvus' words.

Orvus stayed still at the center of the room. He blinked as he looked at the control terminal. A lever stuck out of a gold mechanism that had a dial attached to it. The most important mechanism in the entire facility. He was glad that he was able to protect for all of this time. But he didn't know how much longer he was able to keep protecting it, and that was why he had to create an heir. His eyes gazed upwards at the Great Clock's core. A stable orb of time energy that kept the space-time continuum intact. It was there where his son had to be born. Otherwise, there wouldn't be enough energy to keep him properly stable.

With confidence, Orvus floated upwards towards the core. Sigmund quickly called up to him, "Sir, wait! Don't you want to take a minute to prepare? You know what this process does to your energy."

"I've never been more prepared, Sigmund," Orvus replied, sending a smile down to his friend. "I have Zoni stationed on planets throughout the universe who will gather raw life force for me to pump into the core's time energy. If we balance them just right, we should be able to do this. Brace yourself, Sigmund. It may get a bit intense."

"Yes, sir," Sigmund said, backing up. He was a bit worried about Orvus rushing into this. He knew that he was eager to create his son, but… he just couldn't help but worry. He was a worrywart. But, like he had said before, he believed in Orvus. Sigmund called up to him, "Good luck, Orvus!"

Orvus smiled again, feeling a bit moved by his friend. He gave a nod and shot right up to the Great Clock's core. His eyes stared into the great orb of time energy. The amount of times he had done this… it was outrageous. He knew that he was rushing into this attempt, but he couldn't help but feel almost over excited. Orvus had been waiting for a very long time for his son to be born. He just prayed that this time was the right time.

Deep breaths.

Concentrate.

Close your eyes and feel it.

Orvus remained silent for a moment before calling out to the Zoni he had stationed on other planets. Ardolis, Rykan V, Quantos, Zanifar, Kerwan, Florana...each planet crawling with life. It should have been enough. "Gamma...Delta...Xi...Psi...Theta...all of you, please, lend me the life force of the planets you are stationed at, so I may forge and birth your prince..."

Each Zoni heard their king's call. As if they were all right next to each other, the Zoni put their hands together in sync and began gathering energy. The plants… the wildlife… the people… all unharmed, yet a small portion of lifeforce was taken from all and stored in the bodies of the Zoni. Their bodies glowed a healthy green, and once again in sync, they spread their arms apart and chanted, "Zoni!"

A green light dispersed from their being and disappeared into the air above them. Orvus felt his own being filling up with the same energy that they had collected. The very essence of life itself flowed through him. It was like he was living one million lives at once. Calmly, Orvus lifted his hands to the Great Clock core and channeled the life force through them and sent it into the time energy. They were like shining green waves gracefully brushing up against each other as they headed towards the same shore. The two energies collided and a bright light emerged from their collision.

Orvus kept his eyes closed as he kept channeling the life force. He was beginning to become heavy. It was like gravity was grabbing him by the whole body and pulling him downwards. The Zoni struggled to keep his position and his concentration. He could endure the slight torture it was putting on his body. This was for his son… for XJ-0461. His son was going to live, whether fate liked it or not. Orvus wanted to be a father. He wanted to raise his son with love and pride for him. He wanted to…

The life force in his body drained, and the rest of it flickered from his fingers. Orvus slowly lowered his arms and his head. He breathed heavily and let out a small groan as gravity and exhaustion finally got the best of him, and he plummeted downwards. Sigmund yelped and quickly caught him before he could hit the floor. He looked at the Zoni with great concern.

"Sir, are you okay? Do you need anything? A chair? Tea? Maybe some food? Ooh! I keep a banana with me in case-"

"No no, Sigmund, I am fine," Orvus said weakly. Sigmund slowly let the Zoni go, and Orvus struggled to levitate himself. He let out a breathy chuckle, "I guess I should have listened to you. I should not have rushed in to this. I just wanted my son to-oh!"

Sigmund and Orvus quickly looked up. The core was absorbing the very last amount of life force. At first, nothing happened, everything seemed to stay the way it was. When Orvus had half a mind to think of this as another failed attempt, a large light erupted from the core, making both Orvus and Sigmund cover their eyes. When they could finally bear to look, they watched with amazement.

The vibrant green life force danced in the bright light, almost like it was putting on a performance. The strands of lifeforce spun around, finding other strands to spin together with. Eventually, each strand wound together and shot upwards, forming what looked to be a green orb before the core gave off another blinding light. This one lasted a bit longer and made the entire inside of the Orvus chamber completely white. As the two Caretakers shielded their eyes yet again, a strange sounding 'boom' was then heard, and Sigmund yelped in fear. After a moment, the light faded away and everything seemed to settle down once again.

Orvus uncovered his eyes, the bright turquoise still filled with wonder. What a show that was! He had never seen the lifeforce dance like that before! He had seen it come together many times, but to perform as if it was a grand ball in a pillar of light was remarkable. But they all came together to form that green orb. Was that...?

The Zoni looked up now that the core had settled down and gave off its usual tolerable blue light. However, out of the core dripped a green orb, which floated down softly. Orvus stood motionless for a moment, his eyes fixed on the orb, until he moved forward into the orb's path. He opened his hands and intercepted the orb, the light barely floating above his hands. It was small. Smaller than Orvus' head. But, the question was, was it… was it really...?

Orvus took a hand away from the orb and used it to poke the light, wondering what would happen. At first, the orb didn't do anything, and it just sat there in Orvus' hand. Then something incredible happened. The light began to morph into a different shape, changing from a simple orb into something that looked like a creature curled up in a ball. Orvus went to touch the light again, but was taken back by to antennas sprouting from it. Another moment of stillness passed by. Orvus stared at the light with fascination and he gasped at it moved slightly. The ball began to open. A round head emerged from the light, and two tired green eyes were seen. It blinked a few times before slightly looking up at Orvus. The creature then turned over and kept most of its body in a ball, but Orvus could see the features. Three-fingered hands, small body, simple looking feet… there was no mistaking it.

This creature was clearly a Zoni.

"XJ-0461..." Orvus said quietly. The small Zoni looked at Orvus again before settling down into the arm Orvus was holding it with. It rested its head and closed its eyes, like sleepy infant. Orvus let out an overjoyed breath. Four hundred and sixty times he had failed to create a son. The four hundred and sixty-first attempt… no fluctuations, stable readings, no sign of discomfort or failure to keep its form. He was here. His son, XJ-0461 was here. Orvus carefully floated down to Sigmund, who was waiting with bated breath. The Zoni was in tears when he came down, "Sigmund, he… he's here. XJ-0461 has been born. Isn't he wonderful?"

"Yes he is, sir. And he's so green. Gotta say, it fits him pretty well. Hey there, XJ-0461, I'm Sigmund, nice to meet-" Sigmund reached to touch the newly born Zoni, but his finger simply phased right through the child's body. This made XJ-0461 upset, as it began to fuss a bit. Sigmund frowned, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't think that… he might not be fully corporeal."

"It seems to be that way. But don't worry. When he matures, he'll form a proper Zoni body. Meanwhile, unfortunately the only things he will be able to come in contact with are items of Zoni origin and the Zoni themselves, hence why I can hold him," Orvus explained.

"Oh..." the bot sounded a bit disappointed, but he tried to shake it off. "Well, he seems like a solid Zoni specimen to me. He can survive off the energy of the clock's core. You really did believe in this one, sir. I'm… I'm really proud of you."

"Thank you, Sigmund," Orvus said with a smile. He looked down at his newborn son and watched him fuss, still upset about Sigmund phasing through him. Orvus rocked him a bit and spoke in a soft voice, "Shh, there-there, my son. Everything is going to be alright. You're going to do great things for Zonikind. And I'm sure that you'll make me very proud."

XJ-0461 calmed down a bit and looked up at Orvus once again. He blinked and tilted his head over so slightly before reaching up and grabbing one of Orvus' fingers with its own tiny three-fingered hand. The older Zoni chuckled as more tears ran down his face, and he gently held his son's tiny hand.

"Then again, you already have made me proud..."

* * *

 **Wow, I actually love writing Orvus. He is such a great character. And a great father.**

 **So, I didn't have too much confidence in my old AU, so I decided to start fresh with a new AU! I have high hopes for this one, and I hope that you guys like it. I've had this idea floating around my head for awhile. I guess it was time to put it into action.**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, signing off!**

 **((Thank you to TheLilyoftheValley for editing))**


	2. The Zoni Kingdom

_"The clock, much like time itself, is a gift, and not to be tampered with. And like any father, my only wish is that you continue being yourself and having fun as you grow up. You are an intelligent and logical being, XJ-0461, but intelligence and logic will end up being wasted gifts without learning honor, loyalty, and embracing your own personality. I await the day that you come into those on your own. I can already see that you're making great progress._

 _I'm very proud of you, my son."_

"XJ-0461?! Hey! XJ-0461?! Are you up there? It's morning! And your father wants to see you!"

A familiar voice rang out throughout the Orvus Chamber, echoing off each part of the walls and reaching up to the pulsating core. XJ-0461 felt as if a hand had reached into his dream-like state, grabbed him by the shoulders, and jerked him out of it. Despite him not being in his proper form, XJ-0461 could feel his essence jump a bit as he awakened. "I-ah… mmm..."

Gibberish words came from him as he took a moment to realize what was going on. It was morning hours in the Great Clock, meaning he was fully re-energized. It was a bit strange that he had to dissipate into the clock's time energy core in order to keep his physical plane form stable, but throughout the six years he had been dealing with having to re-energize like this, he had gotten quite used to it. Now to put himself together...

XJ-0461 looked all around the inner core and spotted little green bits floating around in the blue and white energy. Using the energy of the core, the spirit sent out a wavelength of his own energy, to which the green lights responded. They rushed to him and glowed brighter as they took hold of him and formed him into a familiar orb of green light. XJ-0461 then began his descent, as he remembered that someone had called for him.

Like a drop of morning dew falling off the tip of a leaf, XJ-0461 separated from the core and floated down gently. He unraveled his orb form and formed his usual figure: a short and skinny body with little legs with simple feet and arms with three fingered hands, a big round head with two antennas sticking out the top, two large, round eyes and, most strange of them all, two short, streamer-like features that painlessly came out of his back. None of the Zoni knew exactly what the streamers were or what they did, but XJ-0461 loved them nonetheless.

"There you are."

XJ-0461 jolted backward at the sudden appearance of Sigmund before quickly calming down. He was still a bit sleepy, so he wasn't too aware of his surroundings at the moment. He listened to Sigmund as the red robot continued his morning greeting.

"Morning, my young Zoni prince!"

XJ-0461 gave Sigmund a funny look. He spoke in a higher-pitched, yet monotone voice. "Sigmund, please, there is no need to call me that. Just call me by my name, XJ-0461."

"Yeah, I know, I was just fooling with you," Sigmund replied with a chuckle.

The young Zoni gave a chuckle of his own, which, funnily enough, sounded just like his father's. Sigmund was XJ-0461's closest friend, as the robot had helped care for him when he was just an infant. It was always a good day when XJ-0461 got to spend time with him. Even when his father- wait, his father!

"Sigmund, did you say that my dad wanted to see me?" XJ-0461 asked.

"Hm? Oh! Yes, of course! He's waiting outside for you. He had to talk with some of the Zoni about some time anomalies that have showed up recently, so he sent me in to come and get you. But he should be done by now," Sigmund said.

"Thank you. Hopefully I will be back soon so we can watch some cartoons," the Zoni said with a grin as he drifted towards the exit. "Unless you do not have time, of course," he added, remembering that Sigmund had a job of his own to do.

"I will make time!" the robot said with confidence.

XJ-0461 chuckled again and waved bye to Sigmund before exiting the Orvus Chamber. The doors shut behind him and he looked around. The Great Clock looked extra beautiful today. Maybe it was the constant gold and blues, or the time energy coursing through the facility, or the hundreds of Zoni passing left and right all around the place. Or maybe he was still a bit tired and everything just looked extra shiny to him. He would decipher this later. For now, he would have to see his father, who currently stood at the edge of the platform with an eager look on his face. Chronoscepter in hand, he floated forward and smiled warmly.

"Ah, there you are. Good morning, XJ-0461," Orvus said with a cheerful tone.

XJ-0461 floated up to him and smiled himself. "Good morning, dad. Sigmund said that you wanted to see me."

"Yes, that is true. But first thing's first, are you completely re-energized?"

"I am completely re-energized, yes. I slept in the clock's core for all of the night hours."

"And is your form as it should be? Nothing out of place?" Orvus asked, floating around his small son, taking a look at the form himself.

"No, dad. I feel fine, really," XJ-0461 said with a slight laugh. His father would always check to make sure that he was at 100 percent before starting the day. It could be annoying at sometimes, but it was nice to know that his father cared so much.

Orvus, finishing up his look over, gently grabbed one of the steamers on his son's back. "Those streamer things on your back are really starting to grow in!"

XJ-0461 nodded. "I noticed that as well. But… what are they?"

"Well, my boy, they're… they're um… you know, I have no idea. Your anatomy is a bit different even though you're of the same species. You are still a spirit, after all," Orvus said, placing a hand on his chin. "But they look nice! Anyway, I need to stop getting off track, because today is going to be a very special day for you, XJ-0461."

"A special day for me?" the young Zoni asked. He perked up and gasped, "Am I going outside the clock?"

XJ-0461 had never been outside of the Great Clock before. When it came to the universe and its vastness, the clock was all he knew. He didn't even know what was out there besides the planets. He didn't know the people, the animals, the ecosystems, the landmarks, the languages, nothing. So, though he was hiding it, XJ-0461 prayed his father would let him see what the outside universe was like. But his hopes deflated when his father suddenly whipped around to face him, his eyes wide with surprise.

"Oh heavens no!" Orvus said, hiding a bit of panic under his voice. "You are much too young for that."

"Oh..." XJ-0461 said quietly. He looked back up. "When will I get to see what is outside the clock?"

Orvus floated there for a moment and said nothing. Then he put on a smile that seemed rather… forced. "Maybe… when you're older. But for now, we must focus on what we're going to do today. Follow me, XJ-0461."

The elder Zoni floated along as XJ-0461 gave a quizzical look. He had never seen his father so eager to change a subject before. Maybe he was tired, too? Whatever the case, he really seemed to want to move on, so XJ-0461 followed his father. They floated across one of the bridges, Zoni and time energy zipping and flowing wherever they looked. Though he had seen it all his life, XJ-0461 would still find himself in this strange trance where he couldn't get over just how large and magnificent the Clock was. His big, green eyes were filled with wonder as he gazed around the facility. Orvus saw him and smiled.

"I see that you are very entranced by the beauty of the Great Clock."

"Yes… I still cannot believe that you created this place," XJ-0461 said.

"Well, the universe was in a critical state after the incident with the Fongoids, so something had to be done. The universe needed a… heart transplant, as you could say. So me and all of the Zoni you see here created this place to keep time and the universe intact. And everyone has to remember that time-"

"-is a gift, and not to be tampered with."

"Exactly. However, with great power comes great responsibility, and we must work hard to defend this place from those who would abuse the clock."

"Because a lot of people would think it is a time machine, right?"

"Correct," Orvus said with a nod. "The clock is not meant to alter time, only to keep it.

Attempting to use it as a time machine could rip the very fabric of existence. And none of us want that to happen."

XJ-0461 shook his head. Then a question came to him. "Dad, why are you telling me all of this? I do love learning about Zoni history but I am just curious as to why you are telling me all of this now."

"You have a right to be curious, my son. You see, I have been going to great lengths from protecting the clock from those who would misuse it. However, I am an aging Zoni, and I cannot keep up the fight forever. And that was where you came in."

"Me?"

"That's right. Knowing that I will not be around forever, I decided that it was time to create an heir to the Great Clock and the Zoni throne. You, my son, are that heir. The Zoni who will take my place as the Zoni King and protect the Great Clock from those awful people who would misuse it."

"Wow..." XJ-0461, his eyes filling with wonder again.

Orvus put an arm around his son and looked around the clock, XJ-0461 doing the same. He reached his other arm out to motion everything around them. "One day, every Zoni you see here will look up to you as a king and as a leader. It will be your responsibility to keep everything order, from managing the very core of the Great Clock to simply making sure that the time cleaners are working. Every little detail is important."

XJ-0461 tilted his head and looked up at his father. "How will I know when I am ready to lead every Zoni?"

"When the time comes, my boy, you'll know. Call it a Zoni instinct."

"So… I will have to care for all of this?" XJ-0461 asked. Orvus nodded his head. The spirit reflected on this soon-to-be responsibility. To rule the Great Clock and all of its Zoni, to keep time intact, to protect the clock from people who would abuse it… it sounded like a lot. XJ-0461 felt a bit overwhelmed. The concern was clearly showing on his face. "But… what if I do not live up to everybody's expectations? What if I make mistakes? What if… I am not fit to rule the Zoni?"

"Do not say that, son."

"But what if I am… not good enough?"

Orvus took his arm off of his son and instead placed his hands on both the boy's shoulders and turned him to him. The elder Zoni spoke gently in a tone that was full of care. "XJ-0461, listen to me. Over four hundred times I had failed at creating a son, and just when I was on the brink of giving up, the clock pulled through and blessed us with you. You are a miracle, and you are most definitely showing it. You are a remarkable and intelligent boy who is more than capable of taking the throne. And you are going to do great things for our kind. You're going to make everyone happy and you're going to make me very proud."

XJ-0461 looked down a bit. It really was a big responsibility to take in. And he was still so young to be thinking about this. To stay in the Great Clock and rule over it… it definitely was a lot. But, maybe, he would find himself ready when the time came for the title to be passed down. And maybe, when he became older and became the Zoni King, he could finally see what the outside universe was like. But, mostly, he simply wanted to make his father proud. The young Zoni looked up at Orvus and nodded. "Thank you, dad. I… I promise that I will not let you down."

"That's my boy!" Orvus said with a chuckle, embracing his son. "I'm so proud of you."

XJ-0461 chuckled himself. His father was always telling him that he was proud of him. But it still felt nice when he said it. However, the nice feeling was dimmed when XJ-0461, who was hugging his father, noticed that they were right outside the Orvus Chamber again. Did they go in a circle? Why were they right back where they started? He thought that his father said that it was a special day for him.

"Dad, why are we outside the Orvus Chamber again?" XJ-0461 asked. "Did you not say that it was a special day for me?"

"Hm? Oh, yes! Yes, it is." Orvus separated himself from his son with a slight look of guilt on his face along with an "innocent" smile. "The truth is, we didn't even have to leave the chamber. I just wanted to go on a nice morning walk with my son."

XJ-0461 gave a confused smile before asking, "But what is this special day you were talking about?"

"I'll show you. Stand back my son and hold out your hands. I have a present for you!" Orvus said with excitement.

XJ-0461 floated backwards and Orvus made sure he was ready before he began the process. The elder Zoni held up his Chronoscepter, and the gold and blue staff began whirred loudly, and the time energy held within it gave out a great flash of light. XJ-0461 shielded his eyes and quickly recovered in time for him to see his father raise his arms and materialize something in front of him. XJ-0461's gasped a bit when he saw what it was. It was another Chronoscepter. It was very similar to his father's only it was a bit shorter and the top of it had a bit of a more complex shape. But the time energy in it was still glowing bright like the one in his father's staff.

The new Chronoscepter came down to XJ-0461 and it dropped into his open hands, causing the young Zoni to almost fall to the floor. He held onto it with both hands and observed its beauty. Orvus floated down next to him and smiled once again.

"I have been holding on to this Chronoscepter for many years hoping that I could, one day, give it to my son. And now that you are growing up, I believe that you are capable of wielding it. You can fix time anomalies with it, as well as bonk someone on the head. Someone who deserves it, that is."

"This is… amazing! My very own Chronoscepter!" XJ-0461 carefully put the scepter down on the ground and hugged Orvus. "Thank you so much, dad."

Orvus felt his heart skip a beat and his eyes shone with pride as he hugged his young son back.

"You're very welcome, my son."

The two kept their loving embrace for several more moments before letting go. A signal had been sent to Orvus by one of the Zoni he had talked with earlier. He placed a hand on his son's head, "Ah, it seems that I have some work to attend to. While I'm gone, why don't you go show Sigmund your new Chronoscepter? Then you can watch cartoons with him like you always love to do."

"That sounds like a good idea," XJ-0461 said with a nod. He picked up his Chronoscepter and headed towards the Orvus Chamber doors before his father suddenly called out to him.

"Wait! XJ-0461! There is one thing I forgot to mention!"

XJ-0461 stopped and turned around. "What is it?"

Orvus smiled, "I love you! Have fun!"

XJ-0461 chuckled and waved, "I love you too, dad!"

And with that, XJ-0461 entered the Orvus Chamber. The doors shut behind him, cutting off Orvus' sight on him. The elder Zoni kept up his smile for a few more moments before it disappeared, a look of worry and concern replacing it. He turned around and began heading in the direction of the chamber the Zoni had signaled him from. He thought that XJ-0461 was a very smart and responsible boy, he really did, but when his son mentioned leaving the clock, he couldn't help but feel uneasy. His son thinking about traveling outside the clock was not something he wanted to deal with. XJ-0461 was his only son, if he left the clock and something happened...

 _No_ , Orvus thought to himself. XJ-0461 was, like he had said, a smart boy. Once he grew older, he would realize that there were more pressing matters than exploring the outside universe. Orvus believed in his son. And he knew that XJ-0461 was going to make a great Zoni king.

Only time would tell, though, if his son would end up making the right decisions.

* * *

 **Not a great chapter, I know, but transition chapters don't tend to be that great (when I do them, anyway). I was going to skip right to Clank being at age/maturity level that we all know him as, but I wanted to give him a chapter as a kid so everyone could see what he was like when he was growing up and what he learned from his father. But, yeah...still not a good chapter. Hopefully the next one will be better.**

 **Also, I'm sorry that this one was really dialogue heavy. I had more dialogue planned for Orvus than I should have. Sorry.**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, signing off!**

 **((Thank you to TheLilyoftheValley for editing))**


	3. Time and Time Again

_"Class 2 Time Anomaly detected on Planet Ardolis."_

The female voice of the Great Clock computer sounded off, hopefully getting the attention of and warning one of the caretakers. The voice rang through the many chambers and halls of the clock, eventually reaching the senior caretaker himself. Orvus, occupied with a group of Zoni, turned around in alarm. Another time anomaly had shown up. This was the fifth one this week. And it was only Tuesday. The senior Zoni sighed. He was currently in the middle of discussing the status of the Zoni dimension due to all the time anomalies with subjects who had just recently traveled there. Everything was sounding fine, but he still had much to discuss in this meeting. It looked like it was up to his son once more to take care of this anomaly.

"Oh dear," Orvus said, looking in the direction of the chamber that held Planet Ardolis. Sector Three. It wasn't very far. He then signaled his son. "XJ-0461, could you handle that time anomaly, please? I'm a bit held up at the moment."

Several moments later, XJ-0461 floated out of the orientation room at the call of his father. Still cloaked in a bright green light, XJ-0461 stood at about the same size as his father, perhaps a bit smaller if looking at the specifics. Two long antennae stuck out of his head, each forming a small sphere at the tip. His arms and legs had become slightly longer, but his simple feet and three fingered hands remained. And the short mysterious streamers sprouting from his back had blossomed into long, elegant ribbons that flowed gracefully when he moved. He spoke in a deeper monotone voice that would still seem high pitched to someone outside the clock. "Yes, father, I will take care of it. Sigmund! I will be back! Please pause it!"

"Got it!" Sigmund yelled back, pausing a cartoon about a magical Fongoid child.

With a nod and Chronoscepter in hand, XJ-0461 began floating towards his intended destination, but Orvus stopped him. "Remember, Ardolis is in Sec-"

"It is in Sector Three and it is the one closest to the northeast window. I know, father. I have studied the Great Clock inside and out," XJ-0461 said with a matter-of-fact voice.

"Erm, yes," the elder Zoni said with a small chuckle, rubbing the back of his head. "Forgive me. I suppose that I am still getting used to you being so grown up. It seemed only a few days ago I was holding you in my arms as a newborn. And now look at you, you're almost as big as I am."

XJ-0461 gave an embarrassed chuckle as he saw the group of Zoni staring at him as Orvus talked about him being a child. The young Zoni adjusted his Chronoscepter, "Yes, well, I must grow up if I am to rule as leader of the Zoni one day. But, for now, I must go and fix the anomaly on Ardolis before it moves up to a Class Three anomaly."

"Ah, of course. I'm sure you'll be able to take care of it easily. You did grow up to be quite the intelligent Zoni, after all!" Orvus said, moving XJ-0461 along. The green Zoni floated onward towards Sector Three of the clock as his father gave a small wave. "Go and make me proud!"

XJ-0461 moved along the many glass bridges and platforms of the clock as Orvus went back to his meeting with the Zoni from the Zoni dimension. Even though he had been smiling at first, XJ-0461 frowned and slumped ever so slightly as he made his way towards Sector Three. Another day, another time anomaly.

For the many years XJ-0461 had been living, ever since he was trusted with his own Chronoscepter, he had been dealing with anomaly after irregularity after anything that had to do with the disruption of time. When he was six years old, he had to admit, repairing possible rifts in time and practically saving planets from being ripped apart by the rifts was exciting and satisfying at first. However, as he became older, he realized how much he was tired of doing it. It was always the same: activate the anomaly detector, use the Chronoscepter to repair the rift done. Wash, rinse, repeat. He knew that it was his duty as a Zoni and a prince to take responsibility for time rifts and anomalies, as he was a keeper of time and caretaker of the clock, but when he was doing the same thing every week of every month of every year, he couldn't help but be sick of it.

It was so sickening that XJ-0461 had been brought to the point of desperation and almost feeling like he was in a rut. He had lived in the Great Clock his entire life, and he enjoyed roaming the facility and interacting with the many Zoni and spending time with his best friend, Sigmund, but he still was like he was trapped in a box. A box make of time energy and gears and cogs and chambers. And it felt like it was getting smaller each day. XJ-0461 longed for the day that he could, eventually, travel outside the clock.

XJ-0461 had been told many times by his father that he had to wait until he was older to leave the clock. And he didn't even guarantee that he could leave, it was always "maybe when you're older". XJ-0461 was a very polite and patient Zoni, but he always felt frustrated when Orvus refused to let him leave the clock. All he wanted to know was what it was like out in the universe. What it looked like, what the sun was like when it shined on him, what the wind was like when it blew through a meadow, what it was like to be outdoors. It had been something XJ-0461 had dreamed of since he was a growing child. And he swore that, someday, he would see what the outside universe was like.

In the meantime, however, he would have to just suck it up and repair the time anomaly on Ardolis.

XJ-0461, after traversing the ridiculous amount of bridges and chambers, quickly made his way to the Sector Three Planet Room. It was a large circular room full of what looked like miniature versions of real life planets. A model of each planet in all three galaxies, Polaris, Solana and Bogon, was needed in case any planet was effected by uncontrollable time rifts. It was not that hard to get rid of the anomalies, though, at least not for XJ-0461. And luckily for him, it seemed like only a small rift had opened up on Ardolis, so he should have been able to make quick work of this.

The young Zoni floated over to the gross looking green planet that sat over by the northeast window, just like he remembered. He fixed his grip on his Chronoscepter and stuck out his small feet, landing safely on the pad connected to the mechanism that held the planet. The clock's computer's female voice rang through the room as it detected XJ-0461's presence on the pad.

 _"Quantum Restoration Initiated."_

 _"Temporal Rift inbound in three...two...one..."_

A small ding rang over the computer's voice, and pillars of light appeared in several places across Ardolis. There was nothing major to worry about, just some level one and level two anomalies. XJ-0461 gripped his Chronoscepter and shot a blue beam from out of its core. It pulsated as the beam met with broken anomalies and repaired the damage they had done. Small pillars of yellow light crawled all over Ardolis, but they were no match for the Chronoscepter's beam and XJ-0461's repairing speed. Barely any Seekers, nasty little things that would break the anomalies that were already fixed, were able to spawn in before XJ-0461 turned the planet up and down and left and right and upside down and right side up and cleaned up all of the rifts. The green planet glowed a healthy blue before it settled back down onto its normal disgusting green. The computer's voice sounded again.

 _"Temporal normality restored to Planet Ardolis."_

"Too easy," XJ-0461 said, floating off of the pad and twirling his Chronoscepter. He then paused for a moment and sighed, dropping his shoulders a bit, "And it is still not as exciting as it used to be."

XJ-0461 slowly left the Polaris Planet Room and began his trek back to the orientation room. As he went, he had this look of disappointment on his face. To think that repairing time across the universe would become so easy and boring to him. As he thought before, it used to be fun and rewarding when he was younger, but now that repairing time anomalies was something he did on a regular basis, he simply could not get excited for it anymore. In fact, whenever the clock's computer alerted the caretakers of a time anomaly detection, he was filled with dread. He knew that he sounded pathetic by complaining about how dull fixing the anomalies had become, but he wanted to speak his mind. And his mind said that life at the clock had become boring.

As XJ-0461 made his way through the ticking labyrinth, his eyes were caught by something moving outside of the clock. He looked up and gazed out into the deep purple abyss of space and saw a cluster of asteroids quickly make their way through the endless void. Even though he wasn't even a solid being, XJ-0461 could feel the outside universe being reflected in his big eyes. Something about that big abyss that he had been looking into since he was a child filled him with strong amounts of curiosity and wonder. XJ-0461's eyes shifted down towards his Chronoscepter. He frowned and gripped the handle tighter. It wasn't that he hated being here in the Great Clock, he just wanted a peek of what was outside of it. Just a simple five minutes on any planet would be acceptable.

"I...I cannot keep this to myself any longer," XJ-0461 quietly said to himself. He meant it, as well. There were days where he just wanted to go up to his father and simply request to leave the clock for awhile, but he could never gather up the confidence to do it. But, now that he was truly reflecting on how much this place had dulled down his potential-filled life, he really believed that he was capable of doing it this time. Besides, his father was a kind and compassionate Zoni who did his best to understand his son. Maybe today was the day he was going to receive his father's permission to leave. Even if it was only for a little bit.

XJ-0461 took a moment to let out a breath that he didn't even need to take before taking off towards the orientation room. He zipped through the rest of Sector Three and followed the easy path back to where he had been before. Only twenty minutes had passed by, but it seemed like things had changed when he was gone in Sector Three. The group of Zoni Orvus had been talking to were nowhere to be seen, along with Orvus himself. XJ-0461 looked around as he hovered towards the orientation room. When he went inside, he was a bit surprised to see that Sigmund was now absent from the room, and the cartoon they had been watching earlier was no long on the large screen. Instead the screen was completely blank, and the only person in there now was Orvus, who looked like he was just passing through. XJ-0461 found himself quickly stopping him before he could leave the room.

"Wait!"

"Hm? Oh, hello XJ-0461. Excellent work handling those anomalies on Ardolis. The computer told me that the planet's temporal balance is back to normal," Orvus said with a smile.

The young Zoni nodded and placed his Chronoscepter against the wall. He kept facing the wall for a moment before he turned back around. Alright, here went nothing. Chin up, confidence high, and don't forget to breath (even though he didn't need to).

"Father, I must speak with you about something," XJ-0461 said, attempting to keep his confidence up. He was not surprised, however, when Orvus simply went along with him.

"Oh? Well, let us here it. Oh-come, come, let's sit down first," the elder Zoni said, guiding his son over to the antique couch that sat almost awkwardly in the middle of the orientation room. Orvus settled down onto the red plush surface which XJ-0461 simply hovered above it, unable to actually make contact with it. "So, what is on your mind?"

"Father, I believe that it is time to..." XJ-0461 paused for a moment. Maybe he shouldn't start off with asking him. Perhaps building up to the question would help? Maybe? "I believe it is time to discuss my maturity and abilities."

"Mm, yes, you have grown quite a lot," the elder Zoni said with a nod. "You have a strong mind and you are very responsible. Not to mention that you handle time anomalies so well that you would make a younger Orvus's head spin."

"Yes, well, I am happy that you think so highly of me when it comes to my abilities and intelligence. And...a-and, umm..."

XJ-0461 trailed off, losing his train of thought. Despite wanting to ask his father about going outside the clock for years, he had never envisioned how a proper conversation leading up to it would go. So far, it was going...great? Good? Adequate? He wasn't quite sure. XJ-0461 folded his arms and tapped his chin. There had to be a way to really build up to the question so he had a higher probability of being granted permission to leave the Clock. The Zoni guessed that he had been quiet and thinking for a bit too long, because Orvus put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a bit of a concerned look.

"What is it, XJ-0461?" He asked with a softer voice.

XJ-0461 sighed. He supposed that this would be the best time to just up and ask. What was the worst that could happen besides saying 'no'?

"Father, I think...no, I know. Father, I know. I know what I want to do," he said, turning fully towards his father, who looked a bit surprised at his son's sudden energy. XJ-0461 simply went for it and let it out, "I would like to travel outside the Great Clock!"

A silence hung in the air as XJ-0461's words echoed throughout the orientation room. Orvus sat very still and his face, almost in a scary way, showed no emotion whatsoever. XJ-0461 was taken aback by this, as he had never seen his father so...still before. The young Zoni was greatly startled as Orvus let out what sounded like a tense laugh. He smiled at his son, which unsettled XJ-0461.

"Now why would you want to do that? 'Travel outside the clock', there is no need! We have everything we need right here in this facility. There's no need for any traveling!"

"It is not a matter of needing something outside of the clock," XJ-0461 tried to explain. Orvus's smile began to fade. "I simply want to see what it is like. I would like to do a bit of exploring outside of the clock-"

"No no no, you will not be doing any of that. You are much too young," Orvus said, shaking his head.

"What?" The younger Zoni straightened up as he felt himself becoming frustrated. "But you just said it yourself that I have matured and become very responsible! I believe that I can handle-"

"You do not know what's out there, son. You won't be able to handle the terrors that the universe can throw at people."

"How do you know that if you simply do not give me a chance. I believe that if you let me leave the clock, I can prove to you that I can-"

Orvus, who had been becoming more and more tense as the conversation went on, shot up from the couch and looked angrily at his son. "Now you listen here, XJ-0461! The outside universe is too dangerous for you and I will not have you risking your life because you're curious about what it's like on other planets! You are staying put in this clock and you will not be leaving under any circumstances!" The silence that had hung in the air returned, this time Orvus's angry voice echoed through the room. XJ-0461's eyes were wide and he felt his body being pushed away from his father. Orvus had never yelled at him like that before. He hadn't even seen his father this angry before. He almost felt...scared. Orvus realized this as well and his eyes too went wide. He let out a small breath before speaking in a softer and more gentle voice. "I...I am so sorry. I-I did not mean to..."

"N-No...it is my fault," XJ-0461 said, his voice a bit strained. "I should not have kept bothering you with the idea of me leaving the clock. I am sorry, father."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Orvus said, lowering himself a bit. "I...shouldn't have yelled like that. Anger is never the answer to a quarrel."

A moment of tension hung between the two Zoni, both of them feeling terrible about how they handled the situation. Orvus spoke up so he could break the tension between them.

"Listen, why don't you go find Sigmund? I sent him off to wind some time cleaners outside of Sector Two. He might get stuck on one of the Time Pad puzzles without help."

XJ-0461 sat there for a moment, bothered by the fact that Orvus had completely dismissed their conversation about him going outside the clock. But he didn't want to anger his father again, so he obeyed the elder Zoni's request and floated off the couch, grabbed his Chronoscapter and went towards the exit. But Orvus's voice stopped him before he could leave.

"XJ-0461," the elder Zoni said, looking a bit sad and almost disappointed. "I really am sorry about that."

"I am too, father," XJ-0461 said with a nod before floating out of the room.

Orvus sighed and shook his head after his son left the room. He never thought he would see the day where he yelled at his son with pure anger and frustration. He didn't mean to, he really didn't, but his son bringing on the idea of leaving the clock was just something he didn't want to discuss. XJ-0461 was a very fragile being, and if he let the clock and something happened to him, it would be over. Orvus would no longer be a father. Another failure at having a successful offspring. He had failed so many of them, he wasn't prepared to fail again after all XJ-0461 had done throughout his life. He had come so far.

But, even when he was a child, XJ-0461 did seem like the curious type, so it should have come as no surprise that he wanted to see what it was like outside the clock so badly. A memory flashed before Orvus's eyes as he simply floated there alone.

 _Curious about the huge place he was in, the young Zoni crawled over to the edge of the platform and looked down, letting out excited giggles as he saw all the Zoni and chambers in the lower levels of the clock. He reached his arm down and began sliding off the ledge, Orvus saw this and quickly grabbed his son before he could fall off. He held XJ-0461 in his arms and gave a sigh of relief._

 _"Whoa there! Be careful, my son," he said, putting the young one back down on the platform, away from the edge. "The Great Clock is a very, very big facility. I do not want you getting lost in here. So please stay where daddy can see you-"_

 _Orvus had glanced away for a moment to check the distance he was from the edge, but when he had looked back, XJ-0461 was already a few feet away from him, giggling as he switched between crawling and floating. The elder Zoni smiled and went over to his son, picking him up in his arms again. He chuckled._

 _"You are quite the little explorer, aren't you?"_

 _"Dada," XJ-0461 squeaked, putting a hand on Orvus's face._

 _He chuckled again and put the child over his shoulder and floated away. A tiny frown came on to his face. "Let us hope that you outgrow that."_

After all of these years, despite Orvus's hopes, XJ-0461 was still eager to go exploring. He didn't outgrow it one bit. He understood his son's craving for adventure and traveling to other planets, he as himself had once been quite the explorer himself, but he learned that sometimes the universe can have a cruel sense of humor. Orvus loved his son, he really did, and he really wished that he had handled the argument with XJ-0461 better, but he simply couldn't let him leave the clock. It was for his own good and safety. Some risks were simply not worth taking.

XJ-0461 however, as he lazily floated towards Sector Two, was thinking the exact opposite as his father. He believed that he had every right to leave the clock. He wasn't going to be abandoning his father or his race of his duties of the throne, he just wanted to see what it was like. But his father was so against it that it was almost concerning. XJ-0461 wondered if there was some sort of reason that Orvus didn't want him to go outside the clock. But what would it be? Perhaps, after he was done helping Sigmund, he could go back and ask his father about...

 _"The outside universe is too dangerous for you and I will not have you risking your life because you're curious about what it's like on other planets! You are staying put in this clock and you will not be leaving under any circumstances!"_

XJ-0461 stopped in his nonexistent tracks. The look of his angered father still haunted his mind. Never had he seen Orvus so angry or raise his voice so loud. If XJ-0461 had a physical heart, it would have been beating a mile a minute after his father yelled at him. And even though he had apologized, he still felt shook up by it. Maybe he should reconsider talking to his father about leaving the clock again, as it was very obvious that Orvus was still strongly against it. _Very_ strongly against it.

The young Zoni sighed as his dreams had become crushed again. He was never going to get out of this place. This thought hung in his mind as he spotted Sigmind, who was fiddling with the large computer screen he kept with him, and floated over to him. Sigmund was looking interested in something on his screen but it disappeared when XJ-0461 came over to him. He pushed his screen aside and offered a usual friendly greeting.

"Oh, hey there, XJ-0461. Sorry that I wasn't in the orientation room, Orvus sent me to do a little chore."

"I know, he told me," XJ-0461 said, sadness clearly being in his voice. The young Zoni scolded himself for letting that happen. And he felt worse as Sigmund quickly picked up on it.

"Is something wrong? You're looking a little blue...well, metaphorically. I haven't actually seen you be any color besides green."

"I am fine, I just...got into an argument with my father."

"You _what?!_ You got into an argument with Orvus?! Wh-what-why-how-this has never happened before! Did you do something? Did he do something? D-Did _I_ do something?!" The red robot stumbled on his words, freaking out a little bit. Orvus was never one to get into an argument, so this was definitely shocking news to him.

XJ-0461 attempted to calm his friend down, "No, no, it was completely my fault. I tried to talk to him about letting me outside the clock."

"You want to leave the clock? How come? I thought you liked it here."

"Well, 'leave the clock' is not exactly how I would put it. You see, Sigmund, I umm...I want to...how do I put this in nice terms..."

XJ-0461 looked like he was struggling to put his explanation together. Sigmund was his best friend, he should have been able to really tell him how he felt, but he was still having trouble. Fortunately, though, Sigmund seemed ready to give him that little push he needed. The red robot hovered a bit closer to his friend and put his hands together.

"It's okay, XJ-0461, you can tell me anything. Just let it out! I'm a great listener, after all."

The young Zoni felt his shoulders drop as he sighed. He spoke in a weak voice, "Sigmund, I...I just cannot but feel...trapped here. It bothers me that I am unable to leave or at least peek at the outside universe."

"Well, at least the clock is pretty big. There's lots of roaming and exploring that you could do here."

"The clock becomes much less big when you realize that what is outside it is much larger," XJ-0461 said, folding his arms, looking a bit ashamed about what he just said.

Sigmund gave him a sympathetic look, "You've been thinking about this a lot, haven't you?"

"I have," XJ-0461 said with a nod. He looked at his Chronoscepter and sighed as he stroked the handle. "It is not that I want to leave and abandon my position as the heir to the Great Clock. I simply want to know for myself what it is like outside of it. I want to know what a breeze is, what the light of the sun looks like, what crystal clear water waves sound like. I know that my father said that I am still too young and that he wants to keep me safe, but he has been saying that for many years. I want to say that I am ready, but I know that he...he just will not listen."

Sigmund looked at his friend with pity and sadness. The little Zoni had more on his mind than Sigmund thought he did. And by the sound of it, he had felt this way for a very long time. He understood what it was like to feel trapped. Planet Viceron...he remembered his days on that planet well. Seeing XJ-0461 look this sad and desperate just to get out of the clock for a little bit really got to the robot. Sigmund had been watching over and bonding with the young prince ever since the Zoni was able to let out little babbling noises. Their friendship meant a lot to him. And what kind of friend would he be if he didn't help XJ-0461 when he needed it most? Not a very good one in his book.

The red robot looked around, seeing if anyone, especially Orvus, was nearby. But his sight and his scanners showed that Orvus was in a farther part of the clock. This was good. Sigmund pulled his computer screen closer and began tapping on it, pulling up something that he had been observing earlier. If he could just get XJ-0461 there on time...this just might just work. But they were going to have to be quick and sneaky about this. Otherwise they might get into big trouble. The red robot looked at his friend with hopeful eyes.

"XJ-0461, I think I might be able to help you."

"Help me?" XJ-0461 said, tilting his head. "How are you going to do that?"

"Well, we might have to break some rules, but if we do this right, you'll be able to see a real planet with your very own eyes," Sigmund said with a smile. He turned his screen around and motioned XJ-0461 closer so he could see an image of a brownish planet located in the Solana Galaxy. "Ever heard of Planet Veldin?"

* * *

 **Tbh, did not expect this chapter to be this long. But I'm really glad that I got to fit in what I did. And the next chapter is going to be a really good one. Because a familiar character will be making their first appearance in the story!**

 **And, I just wanted to let you guys know, Airbax on Deviantart actually created fanart of Zoni Clank. So if you want to see it, go to her Deviantart and look for it in her gallery. It'll be easy to recognize because it's really, really green. And it's awesome. And check out her other art, too, it's really good.**

 **Anyway, thank you all for your support of this fic. I really do appreciate it.**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, signing off!**


	4. Planet Veldin

"Planet Veldin?" XJ-0461 muttered, looking at the screen Sigmund put in front of him. An image of a brownish planet with spots of dark blue scattered about was pulled up onto the screen, along with various bits of information about the planet itself. A backwater desert planet located all the way in the Solana Galaxy. It sounded rather dull but rather cozy at the same time. But what did this planet have to do with anything? XJ-0461 attempted to push the screen away, but his hand simply phased through, so he just shook his head and looked at Sigmund. "Sigmund, what is the purpose of showing me this?"

"Well, I-" Sigmund quickly stopped himself and looked up. As always, Zoni were zipping about the Clock. They looked busy, but that didn't mean that they weren't listening. The red robot motioned his hand towards the chamber they were in front of and whispered. "Come on, let's go inside. If any of the Zoni happen to overhear us, there'll be trouble."

XJ-0461 nodded and followed Sigmund into the chamber, the blue and gold doors shutting behind them, concealing them in the safe chamber. Sigmund floated over to the window and looked outside, scanning the nearby area for Orvus or approaching Zoni. He looked over his shoulder, "No one's coming over on this end. Quick, check the other side."

XJ-0461 went over to the opposite side of the chamber and looked outside. He didn't sense his father or other approaching Zoni either. "Everything is clear."

"Great!" Sigmund said, meeting XJ-0461 in the center of the room. The Zoni spirit zipped over to his friend and back in front of the screen showcasing planet Veldin. "Sorry for being all secretive about this. I really shouldn't be doing this or even _thinking_ this for that matter, but I do want to help you."

"Help me with what?" XJ-0461 asked, tilting his head.

"Get you out of the Great Clock, of course!" Sigmund pulled the screen back over towards him and tapped on it swiftly, altering the picture of Veldin and bringing up temporal information on it instead of stand information. XJ-0461 hovered over his friend to see what he was doing, as he was curious about how he was going to help him. But before he could get a good glimpse at it, Sigmund pushed the screen away and turned to him. Sigmund was suddenly looking nervous and even a bit sad. He spoke in a more quiet voice, "Um, before I show you this, can you, um...I-I have some demands if I'm gonna show you this-well, no not demands, that sounds harsh. Look, can you just...can you just promise me a few things?"

"What would you like me to promise?" XJ-0461 asked, tilting his head again.

"Well, if...if I show you this info, and you reject what my idea is...please don't tell Orvus. If he found out about this, he would...nevermind. Just please don't tell Orvus!"

"Of course. I promise not to tell my father," the spirit nodded.

"Okay. And I also need you to promise me to, well...if this plan doesn't work, please don't be mad at me. I know I'm not the smartest robot in the universe, or Vicreon for that matter, but I really tried to think this through. So please don't get mad-"

"I would never get mad at you, Sigmund. You are trying to help me, and I am already grateful. In other words, I promise not to get mad at you."

"Okay, good. Awesome," Sigmund said with a thumbs up. But he still had one more promise that needed to be made. "As for the last promise-and this is a big one! I need you to...record the new episodes of 'Samuel Galaxy' when I'm not able to watch them. Please."

"Erm...my hand would phase through the remote, Sigmund."

"Right then! Okay, let's take a look at this planet," the red robot said, quickly moving on, dealing with the hard truth that he might miss new episodes of his favorite cartoon. He pulled the screen back out in front of them. He pressed several buttons on the screen, pulling up a residual image of temporal normalities on the planet. Everything seemed to be normal, except a small light green spot staining the planet's surface. Sigmund pointed to the green spot, "See this? According to the temporal scan of the planet, there is a slight time irregularity. As you know, time irregularities soon form into temporal anomalies, and that's when we deal with them here at the clock."

"Yes, I do know that," XJ-0461 said with a nod. "But I do not understand. What separates this time irregularity from the large amounts of irregularities we have encountered before?"

"Nothing," Sigmund shrugged. XJ-0461 looked puzzled by this. The robot went on. "It's a normal time irregularity, but I was thinking, if you want to get out of the Clock so bad, you could deal with it before it becomes a full fledged anomaly."

"Oh?" The Zoni spirit said with interest. This was really beginning to catch his attention, as he was seeing where Sigmund was heading with this. He floated a bit closer as his curiosity began to peak. "So you are suggesting that I should go to this planet Veldin and deal with the time irregularity there?"

"Exactly!" Sigmund said excitedly. He zoomed in on the irregularity, "I've known about this irregularity for a day or two and I was just waiting for it to become an anomaly so we could just deal with it here in the Clock. But when you came to me wanting to travel outside the Clock, I knew that this very irregularity could help you. If you go and deal with it there, you can finally see what it's like outside the clock! Isn't that awesome?"

"It...it is brilliant. Sigmund, this is brilliant!" XJ-0461 said happily, unable to contain his excitement. "This is something that I have always dreamed of! I never expected the opportunity to actually make it come true to present itself after father said...well, enough of the past, anyway. How am I going to get to this planet Veldin?"

"That's easy. Though it's probably a method you have yet to find out about," Sigmund said, making XJ-0461 a bit curious. "You've said that you've studied the clock inside and out, right?"

"That is correct, yes."

"Well, it looks like that you still have a bit of studying to do, because there is a way to travel around the entire universe via the Clock." XJ-0461 looked very interested in this subject. He had studied everything his father had told him about the clock, and his father presumably told him everything there is to know about the facility. Perhaps there were things that he was hiding? Sigmund continued, "You know how there's a model for every planet in every galaxy here in the Clock? Well, if you type in the coordinates to the planet and recalibrate the system to its warping functionalities, the pad that you stand on that activates the planet's temporal anomaly scan, it will actually teleport you to that planet. We used to use it to travel to other planets all the time, but Orvus shut the system down awhile back. I, however, still know how to activate the system, so I can send you to planet Veldin. But I have to know if you want to do this. It's okay if you say no."

XJ-0461 simply floated there as he took in all of this new information. There was actually a system for the planet models that allowed them to travel out of the clock and directly to other planets. That was incredible. The fact that Orvus never told him about it slightly upset him, but a quick reflection of their argument earlier reminded him of why his father might have kept the teleportation system a secret. Still, knowing that there may be even more things that he didn't know about the clock bothered him. If he was going to run this facility, he would have to know everything there was to know about it. Perhaps Orvus would fill him in on secrets he kept when the Zoni spirit was older. But, for now, he would have to exploit this secret system. If this was the only way he could make it to Veldin, then he had to take it.

The Zoni spirit looked up at Sigmund with determination brimming in his eyes. "Sigmund, let us do this. I would like you to send me to Planet Veldin."

"Sweet! Oh, XJ-0461, this is going to be so awesome! I can't wait for you to see the sun for the first time! And feel the wind on your-actually, you won't feel the wind because it'll just go right through you, but it'll be so great!" Sigmund said with excitement. The two were so excited about the events that were to come, but there was still one big obstacle that they had to face.

"Sigmund, how will we get to the planet room containing Veldin and send me there without my father or anyone else noticing?" XJ-0461 asked, worried that their plan was about to fall apart.

"That's the part that I'm worried about. We can take a teleportation pad to the sector that has the Solana planet room. We'll just have to be really sneaky from there. I'll also have to disconnect my computer from the Clock's computer and reactivate the system through my own computer, that way it won't announce that we're using the teleportation system. Besides that, yeah, we just have to be really sneaky. But don't worry, my friend, I am a master of stealth. Hi-yahhhh-AH!"

As Sigmund attempted to demonstrate his skills in the art of stealth, the potted plant he kept on the silver ring around his body nearly fell off after he elbowed it. He let out a small shriek as the plant nearly hit the floor. If he was an organic, he would have been able to feel a sweat drop running down his face. He looked at XJ-0461 with a nervous smile. "Erm, did I say 'master'? No no, I meant um...I meant trainee. I'm a trainee of stealth. I'll get better, though. I promise!"

XJ-0461 felt a chuckle rise out of him. Sigmund may have been a clumsy goofball, and those could be seen as negative traits, but traits like those are why XJ-0461 like the robot. Sigmund wasn't afraid of being himself and admitting his mistakes. These were traits that XJ-0461 found admirable. They were also why the young Zoni spirit was happy to call Sigmund his friend.

He floated forward next to Sigmund and smiled, excited for what they were going to do next. "So, my sneaky friend, what is our first move?"

 _((Meanwhile on Planet Veldin, Kyzil Plateau...))_

There were many things that this boy could tolerate.

The harsh Veldin sun didn't make him bat an eye when it was beating down on him.

The bottomless chasms didn't send a single shred of fear crawling up his spine.

Not even the ill-tempered people that roamed these parts were enough to bother him, as he was too used to them to even care about what they had to say.

However, if there was one thing he truly couldn't tolerate, after all the things he put up with on a daily basis, it was-

"You stupid Horny Toads!"

A fuzzy creature yelled into a small, bare-bones garage. His voice echoed off the walls, but not a word he said seemed to reach the ears of the dozens of Horny Toads that were roaming around the place. The toads hopped all over the floors, the walls, the ceiling, the furniture and even the holovision screen. The enraged creature standing outside the garage growled deeply, irritated that his home had been invaded. Sporting yellow fur, orange stripes on his large ears, skinny arms, torso, and tail, blue pants, a hex mount harness, brown gloves and a brown aviator cap, the creature, known by the universe as a Lombax, bared his barely sharp teeth as he watched the hordes of parasites invade his home. He tightened his grip on the handle of his silver Omniwrench 3000. He was not in the mood to deal with these things today. Or any day for that matter.

"Alright, you slimy, drooling piles of Blargian snot!" The Lombax yelled, pointing his wrench at the large group of Horny Toads. "You have five seconds to get out of my garage or else!"

The toads barely even looked at him. The Lombax felt like he should have been even angrier, but he then realized how stupid it was to talk to creatures that didn't even understand a language outside of their own...if they even had a language. He swung his wrench around and sighed. It looked like it was time to play a little game of Exterminator. He didn't much care for this game, but it was better than doing nothing at all. It was time to whack some toads.

The Lombax raised his wrench and slid into the garage, letting loose a full blown swing that smacked five toads, sending them flying. He swiftly turned around and repeated the swing, sending five more toads to their doom. Several of the toads had now recognized the Lombax as a threat and quickly scurried away before they ended up like their friends. Meanwhile, some came down and proceeded to bite at the Lombax, hoping to take it down so they could continue their day in peace. However, any Horny Toad that dared challenge him was met with a face full of Omniwrench. A smile grew on the Lombax's face as he swung his wrench left and right, taking out any toad that came within five feet of him. He may have been tired and not quite wanted to deal with his garage's new infestation, but he had to admit, he wasn't afraid to have fun while he was taking care of the problem.

One Horny Toad remained and it eyes the Lombax from above, clinging to the ceiling, waiting for the right time to strike. It saw the opportunity when the Lombax turned his back to see some of the toads hopping away in fear. It launched itself from the ceiling and towards its target, but the Lombax already had something up his sleeve. He raised his wrench over his shoulder and, when the right time came, swung it hard, sending the last toad flying like a baseball. It looked like a home run.

The Lombax let out a giant breath as he lowered his Omniwrench. That was quite a hassle. He had dealt with Horny Toads before, but not that many at once. He guessed that he would remember to close the garage door the next time he left for the marketplace.

"Well, that was fun...I guess," he muttered to himself, walking over to the side of the garage. He set down his Omniwrench on a worktable covered in blueprints and tools. He flexed his right wrist he had been swinging the wrench with. He may have overworked his hand on this one, but he would be fine. The Lombax walked over to a large brown recliner in the middle of the garage and plopped down into it, letting out a relieved sigh. He was tired of dealing with those darn Horny Toads. They were an everyday occurrence to the people on Veldin, and they would always try and take a bite out of the citizens. The Lombax rolled his eyes as he thought about the everyday things that taunted him. He looked forward to the day he got off this rock and didn't have to deal with these toads or harsh sun or giant canyons anymore.

 _"Pfft, yeah right,"_ he thought to himself. _"The idea of you leaving this place is a joke, and you know that! Face it, Ratchet, you're never getting off this planet. You're too much of a wuss to get on the transit and go somewhere else."_

The Lombax, or Ratchet, sighed in defeat as he listened to his own thoughts. He really was too much of a wuss to actually leave the planet. He had been living on Veldin for fifteen years and he had no idea what it was like off of the planet. The idea of going into the universe alone...it would send a chill up his spine. He always thought that he would be ready when he was older, but a voice in the back of his told him it was pointless. He was going to be stuck on this planet forever. Stupid, miserable, boring planet Veldin-

Ratchet held his breath for a brief moment. As he was becoming drowned in his depressing thoughts, he swore that he saw something out the corner of his eye. He blinked and looked in the direction that he thought he saw something. It just looked like the normal desert to him when he actually looked. But something seemed...off. Like something wasn't right in the...air or something? The background? He couldn't really explain it. There was some weird distortion happening in what looked like a nearby canyon. Ratchet didn't know why, but when he looked at the strange wavy distortion, he felt like he had short breath. Maybe it was dangerous? Whatever it was, he was way too curious to stay away from it.

The Lombax jumped out of his seat and quickly grabbed his Omniwrench and attached it to his hex mount harness. He then pulled out his hoverboard and threw it onto the ground. Ratchet took another breath and looked at the distortion. He jumped onto his hoverboard and set off in the same direction of the distortion.

 _((Back at the Great Clock...))_

Sneaking into the Solana planet room was easier said than done.

First of all, being the Junior Caretaker and the prince of the Zoni caused problems as their presence alone put them at risk of being spotted and stopped. Knowing this forced XJ-0461 and Sigmund to constantly hide whenever a flock of Zoni passed by. They would hide in the plants and behind the railings and it proved to be effective for XJ-0461, but not so much for Sigmund. The robot, due to his larger size, would always be exposed whenever he tried to hide. The two would always become extremely nervous (or in Sigmund's case, panicky) whenever Zoni passed by and Sigmund wasn't able to fully conceal himself. However, despite the fact that Sigmund was horrible at hiding himself, no Zoni stopped by to see them or ask them what they were doing. That alone was a miracle.

But there was still the biggest part left: teleporting XJ-0461 to Veldin. XJ-0461 and Sigmund had successfully managed to get to the planet room undetected (at least they hoped they were undetected) and Sigmund was currently typing furiously on his screen, working his magic to reactivate the teleportation system. Meanwhile, XJ-0461 stood on the pad in front of planet Veldin. The Zoni spirit looked up at the larger model of the planet. He smiled as ideas of what the planet was like flooded his head. It was a desert planet, so was it very sunny? Would he see get lucky and see rain there as well? What were the people like? What structures did they build there? What were the animal inhabitants like? Were they predator or prey? Or were there both? XJ-0461 felt like his head was becoming bigger when he thought of all of these questions and ideas.

However, despite his excitement and his elated mood, XJ-0461 couldn't help but feel a shadow loom over him. A very concerned shadow. The idea of going against his fathers wishes of him staying in the Great Clock was something that unsettled him. He had never gone against his father before, so this rebellious plan to leave the clock and do exactly what his father told him not to do made him feel bad. Disobeying his father after an argument with him...it didn't feel right. Though his dream of seeing planets outside the clock was greater, XJ-0461 knew that he was going to have a voice in the back of his head reminding him that he was disobeying his father. But he was willing to live with it. He didn't plan on Orvus to find out about this, anyway. As long as his father didn't know, he would feel content. The last thing he wanted to do was disappoint Orvus.

Sigmund's furious typing speed slowed down as he tapped the final code into his computer. He let out a tired sigh, "Hoo, that should do it. I think we're ready to go."

"Excellent. I am ready whenever you are, Sigmund," XJ-0461 said, grasping his Chronoscepter tightly.

"Wait! Before we send you off, you'll need this." The robot grabbed an orb that was sitting on the silver ring that hung around him. it was a gold and blue old, similar to the color scheme of the clock. "You'll need this when you want to come back. It's Zoni technology, so you should be able to hold it."

XJ-0461 took the small orb into his hands and gave a puzzled face, "What is this?"

"It's an orb that we use to travel back to the clock. All you have to do is tap it twice and let it teleport you back here. It doesn't really have a name, but I call it the "Home Orb"." Sigmund looked very proud of the name he had come up with the orb, but one he said it out loud, he slumped. "Okay, not the best name ever. But I like it. Anyway, you remember what to do, right?"

"I will fix the time irregularity with my Chronoscepter and then come home," the spirit said with a matter-of-fact voice.

"And please, try not to be seen," Sigmund urged. "We haven't revealed ourselves to anyone after the incident with the Fongoids. So please try to keep yourself hidden."

"I can manage that," XJ-0461 said with a nod. "I am ready."

Sigmund nodded back and typed a bit more on his computer. XJ-0461 could feel himself suddenly being pulled away from the clock. He was being teleported. Though he heard Sigmund say something before things went completely dark.

"Hey, XJ-0461. When you get back, tell me all about what you saw, alright? I want to hear everything. Oh, and good luck!"

With that last word out of Sigmund's mouth, XJ-0461 felt himself being yanked out of the Great Clock and into darkness. He couldn't tell which way he was going or even tell where he was. This was his first time being teleported outside the clock. He had teleported many times before to move around the clock faster, though it required a large amount of energy, but this was a brand new experience. It was almost scary. Like a terrifying ride that felt like it wasn't going to end. And then the darkness ended and led out to-

XJ-0461 felt himself become still. The pad that he had been standing on was no longer underneath his feet and he could no longer hear the ticking sounds of the Great Clock. Did it actually work? Did Sigmund really...?

The Zoni spirit opened his eyes slightly, only to shut them again when they were met with a very bright light. He rubbed his eyes and tried opening them again. He squinted as he looked up at the bright light. His eyes suddenly opened all the way as the realization hit him. Excitement and awe filled his entire being and his jaw dropped a tiny bit. A large light in the middle of a blue sky. He knew what this was.

The sun. He could see the sun. And it was beautiful.

* * *

 **Hoo, long chapter. For good reason, too. A lot happened here.**

 **So, looks like little XJ-0461 is on Planet Veldin! But, the question is, is he alone? The sound of a hoverboard coming makes it seem like he won't be for long.**

 **Anyway, I've been wanting to get to this part, I've got big news guys. I tweeted the writer of the Ratchet and Clank Future Series, T.J. Fixman, if Orvus was killed by Nefarious in a Crack in Time. He actually replied and simply responded #OrvusLives.**

 **The writer of A Crack in Time just confirmed that Orvus is still alive! Only the future will tell if we see him return in a game or not, though. I hope he is, we need to see more of Orvus's character.**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, signing off!**


	5. A Fateful Encounter

XJ-0461 stared in awe at the sight before him. His mouth slightly hung open as he was nearly overwhelmed with all of the new imagery. While he knew that Veldin was a backwater planet, the brand new sights that the planet blessed his large green eyes with was still breathtaking.

The entire rock terrain, for as far as he could see, was a brownish-orange color, and their shades grew brighter in the sunlight. Dust and sand were pushed across the land by the wind, and it traveled over many canyons and abysses. Strange and bizarre rock formations reached up towards the sky as if they were trying to pierce the heavens through the beautiful blue sky. Soft white clouds dotted the sky, making plenty of room for the shining sun.

XJ-0461 felt like he could be welling up with tears. He had seen pictures of planet environments before thanks to Sigmund and his computer, but he never thought that it would be so beautiful in real life. All his life he had been looking at the same thing every day. The blue and white glow of quantum energy, the gold rings and chambers of the clock, and the black and purple abyss of space, the Zoni's eyes had become so numb to the colors. Seeing the browns and reds in this musty land of Veldin with little plants dotted here and there was truly a breath of fresh air.

However, despite the fact that he could look at the plateau all day, XJ-0461 had to remember that he was on a time limit. He could only be gone for so long before his father realized that he was no longer at the Great Clock. Plus, due to the lack of quantum energy, XJ-0461 could not survive here for a long period of time. If he ran out of energy before he could get back to the clock, his existence would be at an end. So he would have to cut his sightseeing short.

Still, his eyes kept drifting to the planet's scenery. While it wasn't the most exciting planet, he was glad he was able to see something like this. Any place that wasn't the Great Clock was perfectly acceptable to him.

The Zoni grasped his Chronoscepter tightly. He could not forget that there was still business to attend to. The time irregularity was somewhere nearby, as Sigmund has teleported him in the chasm where it was located. XJ-0461 hovered down closer to the ground. He looked down slightly and saw what he believed to be was an insect crawling on the ground. He smiled a bit and bent down. The Zoni placed his hand on the ground in front of the insect, but it simply kept moving and phased right through his hand. XJ-0461 shuddered a bit before giggling. He knew that he couldn't touch it, but he just wanted to see what would happen.

Putting on a more serious face as his short fingered flexed on the Chronoscepter's handle. It was time to sniff out that time irregularity. He gathered a bit of energy and the orb on top of his scepter glowed a bright blue. XJ-0461 concentrated as if he was synchronizing with his Chronscepter. He then lifted it and tapped it on the ground.

Once. _Tap._

Twice. _Tap._

Three times. _Tap._

With the third tap, the light from the Chronoscepter grew brighter. It pulsated and let out a small hum as strange blue waves flowed out of it. The waves carried off in several directions, covering the area with a calming blue glow. XJ-0461 opened his eyes and looked around as the waves covered the area around him. He watched the area around him turn blue and he could feel the quantum energy within him react to the energy surrounding him. He calmed himself down so he could carry on his business.

"Come on, now...where are you hiding?" He muttered to himself, looking around. His large green eyes scanned the area, and they went wide as they spotted something several feet away. There was a distortion on the side of the chasm like space was being warped where it was. It was being lit up by the same blue glow his Chronoscepter had emitted. Bingo.

XJ-0461 floated over to the crack-like irregularity and took a good look at it. It was a bit of a nasty one, but he believed that he was very much capable of taking care of it. The Zoni raised his Chronoscepter and prepared to repair the irregularity. However, before he could begin, a large and powerful pulse erupted from the crack, and it through XJ-0461 back. He managed to keep hold of his scepter as he was nearly thrown onto the ground. He sat up and rubbed his head, then terrible realizations ran through his mind. The irregularity was beginning to become unstable. If he didn't deal with it soon, it would evolve into a full blown anomaly. He had to be careful.

The Zoni pushed himself back up and raised his Chronoscepter again. He could feel a large amount of energy building up in the irregularity. This was going to be a bit more difficult than he had expected to be, but he still had full confidence in himself that he could fix this. Prepared for another strong pulse, XJ-0461 grasped his Chronoscepter and built up a bit of energy. His scepter began to glow again as it charged with quantum energy. XJ-0461 concentrated once more. This might get a bit intense, but he believed that he was ready. Much like he did the many times he dealt with time anomalies at the Great Clock, he focused a beam of quantum energy from the Chronoscepter and into the crack of the time irregularity.

The irregularity let out another powerful pulse as it reacted to the stream of quantum energy. However, XJ-0461 was prepared. This was a technique he has learned awhile back, and it was a safety measure for all Zoni. He formed a luminescent shield around himself to shield him from the pulse. This was something he thought that he would never actually have to use, but today was a rather unpredictable day, so he guessed that it wasn't too out of the question.

XJ-0461 kept focusing quantum energy into the irregularity. The crack and distorted scenery began decreasing and the pulses grew weaker and weaker. XJ-0461 felt himself relax as the irregularity seemed to have stopped fighting him and accepted its fate. The Zoni let out a relieved sigh as the irregularity seemed to have reached its final moments.

"Well...I suppose that was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. It is a good thing I made short work of this or else it would have-GAH!"

The Zoni yelped in startling surprise as the irregularity let out a large and very powerful pulse as it was closed and restored. XJ-0461 didn't have enough time to react and put a shield up, and he was thrown almost to the other side of the chasm. His Chronoscepter rolled away from him as he let out a small moan. He didn't quite expect that to happen. He guessed that the irregularity had to give one last kick before it was restored. The Zoni hoped that no wildlife was disturbed by that last pulse because he sure was.

 _Tumble..._

XJ-0461 quickly shot up as he heard something. He floated a couple inches back as he saw rocks tumbling down the side of the chasm and landing at the bottom. The irregularity must have loosened some of the rocks in the cliffs. But that was fine, as it appeared that no wildlife or people were hurt when the rocks collapsed.

"AHHHH!"

XJ-0461's eyes went wide as he looked up. He froze and gasped. Perhaps he had spoken too soon.

* * *

Ratchet didn't know what was going on with this weird distortion in the canyon near his garage, but it must have been intense.

He had been riding on his hoverboard towards the canyon in order to see what was causing the weird distortion, whether it was actually something or it was just his eyes playing tricks on him. Everything had been going just fine. He was lazily hoverboarding towards the canyon, not really thinking anything about this weird distortion when this weird noise filled his large ears. The fur on the back of his neck was suddenly standing up like there was some sort of danger nearby. He couldn't make heads or tails of it, so he has just kept going.

Next thing he knew, a great force came right towards him and pushed him off of his hoverboard. He landed hard on his back against the rocky ground, and he let out an annoyed groan as he rubbed his lower back. The Lombax lowered his ears. That was really weird. He had never felt something like that. It was so powerful, it was like an Argorian came and tackled him down to the ground. Ratchet got up on to his feet and walked back over to his hoverboard, which had settled a few feet away. He grabbed it and looked down for a moment before looking at the canyon. There really was something going on there. Something...strange. Or at least something that could cause powerful waves. Maybe something he had never seen before.

And now his curiosity was fully peaked.

Ratchet jumped back on to his hoverboard and carefully made his way towards the canyon. Humming still filled his ears, and he could feel waves of energy passing through him as he came closer. What could produce so much energy? What was causing this weird distortion? He had so many questions running through his head, and he was way too interested to not find out the answers.

He came to a stop a few feet away from the edge of one of the cliffs that made up the canyon. Though it seemed like everything has calmed down since he wasn't feeling any more waves of energy, he still wanted to see what was down there causing it. He hopped off his hoverboard and took some cautious steps forward. He felt a bit uneasy, like everything had become a bit too settled. The fur on the back of his neck was still standing up. What would he see when he looked over the edge?

The Lombax stopped right at the edge of the cliff and got down onto his knees. Taking a deep breath and making sure that he was secure, Ratchet leaned forward and looked down into the canyon.

That was when things went wrong.

A large wave of energy erupted from the chasm and Ratchet was nearly thrown back by it, but he grasped the edge of the cliff so he could stay put. It turned out that that wasn't the greatest decision, though, as the rock that made of the cliff came loose. Ratchet's eyes went wide as he felt himself sliding downwards. He tried to quickly turn around and get back on solid ground, but the rocks below him gave out and ruined his jump, taking him down with them. With the bottom of the chasm now quickly heading his way, he yelled out in terror.

"AHHHH!"

* * *

XJ-0461's eyes went wide as he heard the distressed yells of a creature that was falling down into the chasm. It must have been caught up in the rocks that fell off of the cliff. The Zoni felt himself panic a bit. He had never been in a situation like this before. Sigmund warned him not to interact or even be seen by anyone. But if this creature hit the bottom of the chasm...there was no way that it could survive. XJ-0461 looked back up at the creature, which was rapidly heading towards the bottom. He felt his quantum energy heart racing. Then his small hands formed into fists. It seemed like he was willing to take a risk.

While gathering energy, XJ-0461 zipped up to the creature and released part of his energy, forming a luminescent shield around the distressed creature. He then zipped away and quickly made sure to keep his distance. He watched the creature fall and winced as it hit the ground with the rocks it had fallen with. XJ-0461 froze once more for a minute as the creature didn't move. It laid sprawled out on its back on the ground. Did his shield not work? Was it not powerful enough? XJ-0461 then let out a relieved sigh as the creature suddenly began moving. It let out a moan and slowly sat up. It was when that XJ-0461 realized that he was in the open. He quickly grabbed his Chronoscepter and zipped behind a boulder, praying that he hadn't been seen.

Ratchet let out another moan as he recovered from his rough landing. He had fallen a long way. Over thirty feet he thought, but he wasn't exactly in the mood to measure how deep the canyon was. Though, speaking of an at least thirty-foot drop, how in the world was he still alive? And, now that he realized it, how come he wasn't in pain? No broken bones (at least he hoped so), no aching joints, no cuts, not even the slightest hint of blood. Did he just get lucky or something?

The Lombax's eyes focused a bit and he blinked. Something then came into view that he couldn't really see before. A light. A white light. A white light around him.

Ratchet's eyes went wide and he shot up as he saw that his body was surrounded by a strange white light. It seemed to form rings around him and trapped his torso in them. He looked at his torso, hands, legs, feet, they were all being trapped by this light.

"What the...? What is this stuff?" He said with confusion. He jumped as the light suddenly dispersed and he was free from it. He checked his body again. No more light. "What's going on here?"

 _Klink!_

Ratchet shot up onto his feet and his ears stood up as he heard something on the other side of the chasm. It sounded like something metal hitting the ground or something else. It seemed like he wasn't alone in this canyon. Perhaps it was time for some answers to all this weird stuff going on.

The Lombax took a few tiny steps forward and kept his ears and eyes open. Ratchet squinted as he believed he caught sight of something. It was a bit hard to tell, but there appeared to be a green light coming out from behind a nearby rock. For a moment, he dared not to move, as he didn't know what it was coming from. It could have been coming from a weapon. It was only when he heard the sound of something hard (maybe something glass?) hitting the ground once again that he decided to get up and see what it was. Ratchet grabbed his Omniwrench and held it tightly while stalking up to the rock. As he crept towards it, he lowered his ears and spoke.

"Alright, who's behind there? You better come out! I'm not afraid to use this thing, you know."

If he could produce it, XJ-0461 would have had sweat running down the side of his head. The creature was right there. And it had...what appeared to be a comically oversized wrench with it. He assumed that it had the intention of using it as a weapon. Despite the fact that XJ-0461 could not be hurt or even touched with the object, he felt terrified. This creature was threatening him and it wanted him to come out. XJ-0461 looked at the Home Orb in his hands. Just one move and he would be teleported home, where he would be safe from the creature. However, for some odd reason, XJ-0461 felt his hand become stiff when he tried to activate the orb. His gaze shifted over to the orange creature, who was waiting for a response. He wasn't supposed to show himself, as the existence of the Zoni was preferred to be kept secret due to the incident with the Fongoids. But...XJ-0461 saw this as a sort of opportunity. He had never communicated with anyone who wasn't a Zoni or Sigmund. This might have been his only chance to do so. Besides, he had already broken a few rules today, maybe one more wouldn't hurt as long as he didn't go overboard.

"I know someone's back there," the creature said with a tense voice. "Don't make me come back there myself."

Gaining all of the courage he could possibly receive, XJ-0461 took a deep breath and calmed himself. He then floated out from behind the rock and looked the creature in its big green eyes (huh, just like him). "Erm...forgive me. I-"

"GAH! What the-?!" The creature yelled out in surprise, nearly dropping the wrench. He took a cautious step back and raised a defensive arm. "What the heck are _you_?!"

"Well, about that, I can not-"

"What even-?! You're not-! You're not even walking, you're floating! And you're, like...what are you made of light or something? What am I looking at?!"

XJ-0461 was now beginning to think that this was not a good idea. The poor creature was freaked out by him. Perhaps he could calm him down? The Zoni floated just a little closer to it. "Now now, there is no need to be so worked up. I am friendly, I promise. Oh! And I am not made of light, I am actually made of quantum energy. Though the green light I give off would make people mistake me for light as well."

"Quantum energy?" The creature asked, still a bit wide-eyed. "How does _that_ work? What _are_ you?"

"I am afraid that I must withhold that information for safety. Forgive me."

"Oh..." The creature took a moment to look away from XJ-0461. He (XJ-0461 believed that it was male) still looked a bit shook up. It took a moment to compose itself before looked back at the Zoni. "So, umm...what exactly would someone name a creature made of quantum energy?"

"Well, I do not know what exactly I would name a being made of quantum energy, as I have never produced an offspring made of it," XJ-0461 said, putting a hand on his chin.

The creature gave XJ-0461 a strange look before shaking his head, "No no, I'm asking you what your name is."

"Um...oh! Right! Yes, my name of course," the Zoni said, looking a bit nervous. Was it a really good idea to tell this creature his name? He was already in too deep by telling him that he was made of quantum energy. But, if he didn't tell him, that would be rather rude. And it would be nice to hear an actual organic say his name. "Pardon me for not introducing myself. My name is XJ-0461."

"XJ..0461?" The creature asked, giving a strange face.

"That is correct."

"That's um...kind of a mouthful. Can I just call you XJ?"

"No," XJ-0461 said in a monotone voice. "XJ is not exactly my name. It is XJ-0461."

"Okay..." The creature shook his head, seeing how strange the Zoni was. He put a hand on his chest, "My name is Ratchet."

"Ratchet," the Zoni repeated, letting the first organic name he knew roll off the tongue. But he did have to point something out about this name, "A ratchet is a tool, correct?"

"Yeah," Ratchet replied, folding his arms.

"Why are you named after a tool?"

"Why are you named after a...whatever your name is supposed to be?" The Lombax said, getting a bit defensive about his name. It might not have been a good one, but it was a name that he could call his own.

"I suppose that is fair," XJ-0461 said with a small shrug. He didn't quite get Ratchet's logic, but he decided to go with it. He decided to move the conversation along, "So what brings you here, Ratchet?"

"I don't live far from here," Ratchet explained. "I saw weird things happening in this chasm and decided to go check it out. Hey, wait, were you the one causing all of that weird distortion and energy waves?"

"No, that was specifically me," he said, shaking his head. He opened his mouth to explain that it was the time irregularity causing all of the distortions, but he couldn't let his connection with time slip. It could lead to trouble. "It was just a strange phenomenon that I came here to take care of."

XJ-0461 was about to continue, but he stopped after realizing how long he had been here on Veldin. He had been gone for a long time, he had to go back to the Great Clock so he could avoid suspicion with his father. That, and he had used up a lot of energy, so he had to go home and re-energize so he didn't disperse. The Zoni gave a small frown to Ratchet, who was looking at him with interest. It was a shame that he had to leave so soon, as he was rather enjoying talking to someone else besides his father and Sigmund.

The Zoni floated down and grabbed the Home Orb and went back to Ratchet. He frowned again, "If you excuse me, Ratchet, I must go home now. But I did enjoy talking to you."

Ratchet placed a hand on his waist and raised an eyebrow at the orb the Zoni was holding, "Yeah, you're an interesting little thing to talk to yourself. You're definitely not something I see every day."

"I am not surprised by that," XJ-0461 said with a small chuckle. He floated upwards and activated the Home Orb, which glowed with a very familiar blue energy. He prepared to teleport home before Ratchet called out to him.

"Hey!"

XJ-0461 looked down at him, who was waving. Then he called out again.

"Do you live around here or something? Will I see you again, sometime?"

The Zoni was surprised as he felt his quantum energy heart leap. Ratchet...wanted to see him again? Like he wanted to talk to him again? Interact again? XJ-0461 didn't quite know how to respond to this. He didn't know if he would be able to come back to Veldin since he came here mainly on business. However, a small smile formed on his face and a quip came up his throat. He waved at Ratchet.

"Only time will tell!" XJ-0461 said with another chuckle. He took another look at the Lombax before teleporting away with the Home Orb.

Ratchet lowered his arm and put his hand back on his waist. Green and blue sparkled rained down from where XJ-0461 has teleported. He watched them fall down and shimmer in the sunlight. A smile of his own formed on his face and he turned around so he could head back up to his hoverboard. He let out a sarcastic chuckle. He didn't think that he would be a seeing flying, teleporting creature made of green light today. But he wasn't going to complain. It was kind of cool.

* * *

 **And ta-dah! The duo that we know and love (well, sort of) have finally met!**

 **So this chapter was a bit shorter than I wanted it to be, but I decided to live with it since there's not too much more that I can add. But I think it's good as it is.**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, signing off!**


	6. Secrets Between Friends

Just like what he had felt before while teleporting outside the Clock, XJ-0461 felt like he was yanked back and was put back on that terrifying rollercoaster, not knowing which direction was where or if he was upside down or right side up. This time, though, he was expecting him, so it didn't startle him as badly as it did the first time. He still didn't like it, though. It felt a bit too wild for him. Despite disobeying his father's rule and traveling to a new planet, XJ-0461 wasn't exactly what people would call a 'thrill-seeker'.

But it was quick and over with, and before he knew it, he materialized once more and everything around him settled. The gentle ticking that he had heard throughout his whole life returned to his hearing, and when he opened his large green eyes, though it was a bit blurry at first, he could see the blue and gold of the inner workings of the Great Clock. The small Zoni let out a sigh as he held his Chronoscepter close. He was home.

The blurriness in his vision and the rush that came from teleporting faded away and he could see all the planet models that he had been previously hanging around before leaving by using the clock's teleportation system. He looked over his shoulder and saw the big reddish-brown planet of Veldin slowly spinning behind him. XJ-0461 turned around completely and looked at the large backwater planet, a thought occurring to him. He wondered if he could pinpoint where that cat creature he had spoken to was on the model. What was his name again? Ratchet? The young Zoni reached out to place a hand on the planet model, but he quickly drew his hand back as he was startled by Sigmund suddenly popping out from behind the Veldin model.

"XJ-0461! You're back! Oh, thank the stars, I was starting to get a bit worried. Are you okay? What did you see? What was it like?" The red robot asked, eager to hear what XJ-0461 had to say about his first time being outside the clock.

XJ-0461 paused for a moment to look at the large model of Veldin before turning to Sigmund. He hesitated for a moment, thinking about what to tell his friend first. There was so much to cover, even though he had spent a short amount of time outside the clock. Should he tell Sigmund about the roughness of the time ripple? Or how he got to see the sun for the first time? Or...or maybe he should tell Sigmund about Ratchet? The young Zoni decided to follow his brain and just roll with whatever came out first. "I..."

Before XJ-0461 could even figure out what to say next, the sound of a door opening from the other side of the room grabbed the attention of the young Zoni and Sigmund. If either of them had a real, organic heart, they surely would have stopped as they saw the familiar appearance of Orvus casually float into the room. XJ-0461's eyes went wide as he looked down into his hands, remembering what else he was carrying besides his Chronoscepter: the Home Orb. If Orvus saw him with this, the jig was up, and they would both be caught red-handed.

The Zoni quickly zipped right next to Sigmund, distress filling his quiet voice, "Sigmund, the Home Orb! We can't let my father see it!"

Sigmund jumped as he realized the situation with the forbidden item, and he began to panic a bit. He quickly looked around. There was nowhere that they could quickly stash it, and throwing it would surely catch Orvus's attention. So, in a spur of the moment and panicky move, Sigmund, swallowing any sanity that he had left, quickly took the Home Orb and stuffed it into his mouth, closing it all the way so it could be completely concealed. XJ-0461 gave his friend a funny look and shook his head. It was definitely an unorthodox solution, but it was the best they had right now...he guessed.

After that strange situation, XJ-0461 and Sigmund attempted to look as nonchalant as possible, with Sigmund randomly clicking on his attached screen and XJ-0461 pretending to observe the nearby model of the planet Kerwan. When Orvus approached them, they became immediately nervous, wondering if he was buying what they were pretending to do. They relaxed a bit as Orvus spoke calmly to them.

"Well, you two seem to be working hard."

"We are...simply doing the duties that we must attend to every day as caretakers of the Great Clock," XJ-0461 said, trying to cover up the unsteadiness of his voice.

"It is nice to see that you are very dedicated to your job, XJ-0461," Orvus said with a genuine smile. He looked at Sigmund, who was still typing away on the screen. "Sigmund, did XJ-0461 assist you in getting here? I sent him here in case you had trouble with the time pad puzzles."

Sigmund felt a nervous chill in his systems. He glanced over at XJ-0461 for any indication of what do to, as he couldn't speak with the Time Orb stuffed in his mouth. The young Zoni gave his friend an unsure look that said 'don't look at me'. It seemed that he was in a predicament here, and he was short on time with coming up with a solution because Orvus wanted an answer. So, Sigmund did the only thing he could think to do in this situation, and he did his best to swallow the Home Orb. He nearly shivered as it clinked down into his metal torso and made his whole body feel rather uncomfortable. But it was a feeling he was willing to put up with to keep him and XJ-0461's cover.

"Erm, yeah, he did just tha-ACK!" Sigmund let out a horrible screech and he quickly gave a quick pound to his chest. That Home Orb was sitting in a bad place. Also, it wasn't meant for consumption. Though he quickly rebounded as he noticed Orvus's concerned expression. "Sorry, got a rusty gear in there. I'm going to repair it after my shift is over, no need to worr-EEK!"

With Sigmund giving out another horrible screech, Orvus decided to drop the conversation with the red robot, worried that talking with the rusted gear was causing him pain. Also, it just sounded awful. The elder Zoni simply gave Sigmund a nod and he floated over to his son, who was now giving Sigmund a disgusted 'did you just do what I think you just did' look, but he quickly shook it off when he saw his father approaching. XJ-0461's eyes seemed to narrow a bit as he remembered his last encounter with his father and how he was yelled at for wanting to leave the clock. The memory had been haunting the back of his mind, where he had pushed it to. Never before had he seen Orvus so angry before, and it was quite unsettling due to the fact that Orvus was usually a calm and gentle Zoni. Seeing him so furious...it almost made XJ-0461 shudder.

Even though he hadn't said anything, XJ-0461 knew that Orvus was thinking the same thing as well. The elder Zoni appeared to hesitate for a short second before speaking in his natural calm voice, "XJ-0461, about earlier, I really am sorry about that whole situation. I didn't mean to lose control like that."

XJ-0461 felt a ping of guilt in him as he lowered his Chronoscepter, "It is alright, father, honestly."

"I know that I cannot stop you from wanting to leave the clock, but it is simply too dangerous. There are things out there that you don't know about, things that I don't want you knowing about. Son, I know about so many things that can hurt you, and I only wish to protect you. You are my son, and if something happened to you...I do not know what I would do. So it is imperative that I keep you safe, even if it means keeping you here while you desire otherwise. Do you understand?"

The ping of guilt that XJ-0461 had felt before that turned into a full-fledged punch in the incorporeal gut. He kept a blank face as he quickly nodded, "Yes, I understand, father."

Orvus gave small smile and embraced his son, "I love you so much."

XJ-0461 kept his blank face as he received another guilty punch to the gut. He glanced at Sigmund, who seemed to be sharing the same feelings as the young Zoni. Orvus didn't mean to sound unfair when he yelled at him, he was only trying to protect his son. He said that there were many things that could hurt XJ-0461 and that his only wish was to keep him safe. All of the yelling...the argument...refusing to let him leave the Great Clock...Orvus was just doing it all because he loved him. And like a fool, XJ-0461 had decided to deceive his own father and travel outside of the clock anyway. What if something had happened to the young Zoni while he was on Veldin? How would Orvus react if something bad had happened to him? These thoughts just shoved a guilty knife deeper into XJ-0461, and a frown came onto his face.

 _"Senior Caretaker to Orvus Chamber. Repeat: Senior Caretaker to Orvus Chamber."_

At the sound of the computer's feminine voice, Orvus let go of XJ-0461 and composed himself. He adjusted his own Chronoscepter and traded glances with Sigmund and XJ-0461, "Well, that is my cue to leave. You two finish up here and then get some rest, you've worked a hard day."

XJ-0461 and Sigmund gave a nod of approval and watched as the elder Zoni left the room in a bit of a hurry so he could reach the destination in which he was needed at. XJ-0461 floated over to Sigmund and opened his mouth to say something, but he was taken back by Sigmund pounding on his chest and the Home Orb coming out of the panel on his chest, being pushed out by the odd cuckoo bird that laid dormant in there. The red robot gave a large relieved sigh as he grabbed the Home Orb so it wouldn't fall and smash on the floor. He lowered his arms and turned to his Zoni friend.

"The next time I decide to do that, please stop me. That was a bad move on my part. I've never made such horrible sounds in my life, and that's saying something with a voice like this."

XJ-0461 gave another disgusted look, not too eager to take the Home Orb from him, "Yes, well, at least it worked. So I will give you credit for that."

Sigmund composed himself a bit, "Thanks. By the way, I was listening to what Orvus was saying to you. You two really _did_ get into a fight."

The Zoni felt the guilt knife get pushed slightly deeper and he attempted to quickly change the subject, "That is in the past now, there is no need to worry about it anymore. Perhaps now I can tell you about my experience on Veldin."

"Oh! Yes! I've been waiting to hear about this! Okay, tell me all about it, and don't you leave out a single detail! And don't be afraid to ramble, because I ramble all the time, and no one seems to mind. Well, at least I think they don't seem to mind, either that or I just go on and on for so long that they just kind of tune me out and-"

XJ-0461 tried to stop his friend from his ironic ramble about how he rambles. "Uh, Sigmund?"

"Ah, right, sorry! Okay, you can start now. I'm all ears...though I don't actually have ears."

Ignoring the pain that the guilty knife was sending throughout his entire being, XJ-0461 began describing everything he had seen when arriving on Veldin. He went on about the bizarre yet charming rock formations that would reach up to the sky as if they were trying to touch the cosmos, the dust that rolled gracefully across the land, the reds, orange and browns that clashed with the clear azure skies, and the shining sun that seemed to bring the entire scene to life with its harsh light. After rambling about the sights that he saw, XJ-0461 went into detail about his ordeal with the time ripple, and how he was practically beaten up by it when it pulsated. Sigmund would be on the edge of his seat if he was sitting in one when the Zoni described his fight with the anomaly and how he practically synchronized with his Chronoscepter in order to fight it and restore temporal normality.

However, though he was enjoying describing everything to Sigmund, XJ-0461 was leaving out one big detail that he had half a mind not to bring up. If he told Sigmund about his...encounter...then he might be in big trouble. Then again, Sigmund had gotten both of them into trouble by letting the young Zoni travel outside the clock in the first place, so maybe telling Sigmund about what happened after the anomaly wasn't such a terrible idea. Besides, the red robot had told him not to leave out any details, and this was a pretty big detail. It looked like XJ-0461 was going for it.

"So, after I fixed the time ripple, I proceeded to calm things down, but one last pulse came from the healed time anomaly and...um..." XJ-0461 felt a shadow of doubt lurk over him. It looked like he was really doing this, but...to tell Sigmund that he had been spotted and talked to the person who saw him...it was a bit nerve-wracking. Still, though, he continued and ignored the doubt and worry trying to keep his mouth shut. "Something happened that...I could not see coming."

"Really? What happened? Did some boulders fall down into the chasm you were in?" Sigmund asked, his curiosity growing.

"Well, no, not boulders per say, but...something did fall down. Something that I...um..."

"Well come on, spit it out. I want to hear what it was!"

XJ-0461 concluded that he was not good a procrastinating. So he decided to simply choke out the truth, "The thing that fell into the chasm was an um...an organic that I happened to...to save with a quantum energy shield."

"You came into contact with an organic?!" The red robot yelled in surprise, his uneven yellow eyes going wide. "You weren't spotted were you?"

"Well, um...yes. Yes, I was actually," the young Zoni said nervously, pushing himself to continue. "And...and I kind of had a...conversation with him, you could say."

"You had... _you had a conversation with a person outside of the Great Clock?!_ Are you _insane?!"_ Sigmund nearly yelled, beginning to panic.

XJ-0461 attempted to put a hand on his friend to calm him down, but his hand simply phased right through the robot, so he attempted to calm him down with words. "Sigmund, it is alright, honestly. I didn't tell Ratchet what I was or where I came from, all I told him was my name. No one is in danger and the clock is not in danger, it is alright."

Hearing this information seemed to calm Sigmund down a bit, though he was still a bit worked up. "W-Well, it's a good thing that it was just a one-time thing. Yeah...yeah, things will be alright, I guess. You're not going back, after all."

The young Zoni felt a strange feeling in him when Sigmund said that. XJ-0461 placed a hand gently on his chest and his gaze fell off of his friend and into a random direction. A one-time thing? He wasn't going back to Veldin? That...unsettled him. An image of the Lombax he had spoken with flashed before his eyes, and barely without knowing it, quiet words came out of his mouth, "That is the thing, though...I would like to see him again."

" _What?!"_ Sigmund said again, feeling his panic level rising. "You can't go see him again! Who knows what he'll do to you if he finds out what you are! We can't trust him!"

"You are wrong," XJ-0461 suddenly found himself saying, which took Sigmund by surprise. "Though I have only made contact with him for a very short time...I feel like I can trust Ratchet. I do not know what it is about him. I believe that this is what organics call a 'gut feeling'. I would like to see him again, Sigmund. I would like to get to know him better. He could be my first organic friend."

The red robot looked at XJ-0461 with curious eyes. He sure was being certain with this Ratchet fellow. He had never seen the Zoni prince so sure about something in his life, besides wanting to travel outside the Great Clock. XJ-0461 was a very intelligent Zoni and very logical, so if he was getting a 'gut feeling' about some organic on a backwater planet, then it had to mean _something_. Sigmund sighed. He cared too much for his friend to crush his dreams. So, for now, he would go with what XJ-0461's gut said. It wouldn't stop him from being a nervous wreck, though.

The robot lowered his shoulders a bit, "Alright, if your non-physical gut says that you can trust this person, then I guess I'll go with it. But please don't get in over your head. We have to protect every bit of information that we know."

"Of course," XJ-0461 said with a nod, happy that Sigmund agreed with him. "Ratchet has already accepted that I cannot tell him what species I am, anyway, so I do not think he will be asking too many personal questions. And if he does, I will try my best to avoid them. I just hope that we can connect more."

Sigmund waved off his friend's doubt, "Ah, I'm sure you'll become friends. After all, you're great!"

XJ-0461 gave a small bashful smile, "Thank you, Sigmund. Oof..."

The Zoni suddenly felt a rush of weakness come over him and he placed a hand on his head. Sigmund noticed this and quickly realized what was happening, "You're running out of quantum energy! You need to get to the core and turn in for the night. Do you have enough energy left to teleport?"

"I should have just enough, yes," XJ-0461 said, running a hand down his exhausted looking face. He let out a small yawn and looked at Sigmund, giving him a small wave. "Have a good night, Sigmund. And thank you for everything you have done for me today."

"Ah, it's no problem. Now go on off to bed, or core, whatever you call it, you need some rest," the robot said, hurrying his tired friend along.

XJ-0461 nodded and prepared to teleport, images of Ratchet flashing before his mind once again. A small smile came onto his face as he thought about the coming day. He was going to get to see Ratchet again. He didn't know why, but he could feel himself becoming excited. And this excitement remained in every single particle of him as he teleported and dispersed into the core of the Great Clock.

Meanwhile, still in the Planet Room, Sigmund felt a slight weight on his shoulders. XJ-0461 was already starting to get a bit too deep into his out of clock travels, and while he was happy to help because it made the young prince happy, Sigmund couldn't help but worry. Orvus wasn't the only one who knew about what could hurt XJ-0461 outside of the clock.

* * *

 **So during this writing session, I was only planning on adding a little bit to the chapter and going off to work on something else, but I ended up just writing the whole chapter. So...hooray!**

 **If you're wondering what took me so long with this chapter, the adult cartoon "Rick and Morty" has kind of consumed my life. So there's that. It's a really creative and funny cartoon, but it's also super weird and wildly inappropriate, so I actually wouldn't recommend it if you're under eighteen-years-old. And even if you are eighteen, I wouldn't recommend it if you're squeamish or don't like dark/dirty humor and weird/gross graphics. Yeah, it gets _that_ bad. But it's so good. I love it so much.**

 **ANYWAY, my latest obsessions aside, it looks like XJ-0461 is really eager about talking to Ratchet again, but what is it that Sigmund and Orvus know that worries them so much about XJ-0461 leaving the clock? And how will Ratchet react about this green floating entity coming to see him? Find out in the next chapter...whenever the hell that is.**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, signing off!**


	7. An Unexpected Friendship

XJ-0461 floated lazily within the confines of the Great Clock's quantum energy core. His large green eyes stared upwards, meeting nothing but blinding blue light that engulfed him and gave him the energy he needed in order to survive and remain stable. Bits of his being floated around him, free to drift wherever they pleased in the sea of energy, but he managed to have the willpower to keep most of his form intact as he rested in the core. He had a blank look on his face as he continued staring upwards, his eyes narrowing a bit. A voice seemed to be speaking to him in the back of his head, one contained in a memory that he was nowhere near forgetting. The young Zoni had been thinking about the voice all night. It kept repeating the same thing.

 _"You're an interesting little thing to talk to yourself. You're definitely not something I see every day."_

 _"Do you live around here or something? Will I see you again, sometime?"_

 _"My name is Ratchet."_

"Ratchet..." XJ-0461 said quietly, wanting to say the only organic's name that he new again. It certainly was an interesting name. He wondered why Ratchet's parents named him such a thing. Perhaps it was common in Ratchet's species for children to be named after tools? He would have to study such a species when he had the opportunity. But...XJ-0461 didn't even know what species Ratchet was. He was a very intelligent Zoni, but he had barely studied species that existed in the universe. The only one that he truly knew about was the Fongoids, and only because they had close relations with the Zoni.

XJ-0461 moved into a sitting up position and placed a hand on his chin. He guessed that he would have to ask Ratchet about the species he was a member of and research it from there. A sudden ping of excitement went off in the young Zoni's chest. Thinking about visiting Ratchet put a smile on his face. It was rather wonderful knowing that he now had connections outside of the Clock. An organic that had nothing to do with the Zoni race knew his name and face. Maybe when XJ-0461 visited him today they could sit down and chat and perhaps get to know each other better. While he shouldn't even be thinking about forming a friendship with such an outsider, the young Zoni couldn't help but feel happy. Besides, it wasn't like it was hurting anyone. As long as his father didn't find out.

Not able to wait around any longer, XJ-0461 gathered the stray bits of himself and reformed into his usual self. He dropped out of the Great Clock's core, leaving behind a sparkling trail of blue quantum energy that attempted to stick to him, but dissipated once he got down to the ground. Despite not exactly having to, XJ-0461 stretched his limbs and let out a small yawn. His eyes drifted over to his glimmering golden Chronoscepter, which leaned on the main console in the Orvus Chamber. The young Zoni grabbed his prized scepter and left the chamber, the beautiful site of the glowing Clock welcoming him as he floated outside. The stars, as usual, glistened in the deep canvas of space. XJ-0461 let out a satisfied breath. It was a beautiful morning.

A group of Zoni flew by, a small group of four, and a quick thought came to XJ-0461. He zipped up to the group of Zoni and waved his hand and Chronoscepter.

"Hello! Excuse me, friends," XJ-0461 said in a polite manner. The group of Zoni was quick to stop and listen to their young prince. XJ-0461 continued, "I am sorry to stop you, but can you please tell me where my father is?"

 _"Sire is in Orientation Room,"_ they said together in a harmonious voice. _"Resting. You must go to him. Sire is not doing well."_

"Not doing well?" XJ-0461 repeated, suddenly concerned. He placed a hand on his chin and thought of what could be ailing his father. He looked up at the Zoni and nodded. "Thank you for the information. You may resume your work."

The group of Zoni flew by him, leaving XJ-0461 by himself to worry. The young Zoni then zipped in the direction of the Orientation Room, concern and nervousness filling him up. The thought of his father 'not doing well' was something that XJ-0461 was not ready to hear. He had to get to Orvus quickly to find out what the problem was. He hoped that it wasn't serious. This was all so sudden. It suddenly wasn't a beautiful morning anymore.

XJ-0461 followed the path to the Orientation Room, his body glowing much brighter due to his stress and worry. Ignoring the idea of being polite, XJ-0461 didn't hesitate to burst into the chamber, the glass doors flying open. The young Zoni looked around. His father wasn't floating around or in the Mnemonic Station. It was only when he saw movement on the out-of-place futon that he felt a little bit of relief. XJ-0461 quickly zipped over to the futon and found his father sitting on it. Orvus looked up at him and looked like that he was about to say something, but XJ-0461 beat him to it.

"Father, are you alright? A group of Zoni told me that you were not doing well," the young Zoni said, feeling like he could be out of breath if he had proper lungs.

Orvus raised a hand and waved it slightly, "Calm down, XJ-0461, I'm fine. There is no need to get yourself so worked up."

XJ-0461 felt a sudden weight be lifted from him. He put his hands on his face and dragged them down, "Oh, thank goodness. I thought that something had happened. But...why would the Zoni tell me that you were not doing well?"

"They must have sensed the negative energy coming from me." Orvus grabbed his son's hand and pulled the young Zoni down onto the futon with him, XJ-0461 placing himself next to his father. The elder Zoni shrugged, "I suppose I have been under a lot of stress lately. Your father is not what he used to be."

"You are not _that_ old, father," XJ-0461 tried to argue, looking quite unamused. He knew for sure that Orvus was more than spry enough to handle the tasks of a Senior Caretaker.

"I know, I just have been dealing with a lot lately. There is still a disruption in the Zoni Dimension. They're still unsettled about the incident..." Orvus said, muttering the last part. But XJ-0461 picked it up and he tilted his head a bit.

"What incident? I do not recall anything bad happening recently."

Orvus seemed to tense up a bit and an almost fearful look came on his face. He took a breath before shaking his head, a forced smile now on his face, "N-Nothing. There is no need to worry about it. Your old man is just rambling a bit, that is all."

While XJ-0461 wasn't buying it one bit, he decided to drop it, as his father looked uncomfortable. He decided to change the subject, "Do you know where Sigmund is, by chance?"

The elder Zoni was almost too happy to switch subjects, "Oh, yes! He is calibrating Mnemonic Station Iota in Sector Four."

"Hmm...Mnemonic Station Iota? As in 'Iota calibrate this Mnemonic Station'?" The young Zoni said, not being able to help himself when it came to making a pun. He chuckled to himself, "Hehehehe. I really _did_ inherit your sense of humor."

Orvus was chuckling himself, their identical laughs nearly being in sync, "It _is_ one of my best features. I'm glad that you have it." He took a breath and recovered from hearing the amusing pun. A question then came to him, "So, what do you plan on doing today?"

XJ-0461 felt his non-existent heart jump. He had nearly forgotten about his plan to visit Ratchet, it had been overcome with worry for his father. But now that he knew his father was alright, he knew that he had to get back on track. He knew where Sigmund was, now all he needed was the excuse to disappear for awhile. Luckily, he had thought of this the night before, and he had just the excuse.

XJ-0461 turned to his father, "I plan on doing some studying today. My research on the Zoni's connections with the Fongoids seems to be lacking a bit. I plan on accessing the Archives and reading about them there."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," Orvus said with an approving smile. "Keep gaining intelligence, my son. You can never have too much of it. And your deep interest in our race and our roots truly pleases me."

"If I am going to rule this place, I need to know everything there is to know about our race," XJ-0461 said. He knew that Orvus had accepted the bait. Now it was time for the part that he had worried a bit about. "Though I must request that I be left alone during this time. You know how I am when I am studying. I tend to get absorbed in my studies."

"Oh, right..." the elder Zoni trailed off for a moment, a look of sadness almost reaching his face before he waved it off. "Of course. You have been working hard lately, so you do deserve a nice day to yourself. Just don't overwhelm yourself."

"Thank you, father. I am going to get started straight away," XJ-0461 said, trying his best to hide the excitement over his plan working. He zipped off the couch and prepared to make his way towards Sector Four to meet with Sigmund, but he quickly stopped himself. There was something he needed to say. He turned around and gave his father a sympathetic look. "And father, you...you should not overwhelm yourself, either. Please take it easy today. I do not want something bad to happen to you."

"You sound just like...well, _me,"_ Orvus said with a small smile. His son was growing up faster than he could keep up with. But that wasn't exactly a bad thing.

XJ-0461 gave a small wave before zipping out of the Orientation Room. He followed several of the bridges and platforms and only stopped when he was a good distance away from the chamber. He let out a large relieved sigh. His small hand ran across one of his antennae as he felt a large weight be completely lifted off of him. Orvus was not suffering or in pain or any of the things he had feared, his father was simply tired. XJ-0461 felt almost exhausted after the sudden rush of worry had come and gone. After running his hands down his face, his large green eyes drifted out towards the clock. It was starting to look like a beautiful morning again.

The young Zoni knew that he couldn't waste much more time, however, as he needed to meet up with Sigmund. Another reason XJ-0461 felt relieved was that his father had fallen for his cover story. He wouldn't exactly call it 'lying' because he was going to go and study, just not on what he had told his father about. Well, actually that was lying. But XJ-0461 didn't like to remind himself that he had lied to his father. It left a bitter taste in his mouth. And he didn't even have any taste buds.

With the weight of the universe finally off of him and knowing that he was free to go, XJ-0461 zipped towards Sector Four. He decided not to teleport because he needed all of the energy he could contain if he was going to travel outside of the Clock again. The lack of quantum energy made going to Veldin a risky move, but as long as he went back to the Clock before he can dissipate, he would be fine.

It didn't take long for XJ-0461 to arrive at the chamber containing Mnemonic Station Iota. He had visited the Mnemonic Stations many times before, as Orvus was always happy to teach him about them. Iota was also the one that broke down the most, so he would often visit Sigmund while he was repairing or recalibrating it. He could possibly find his way to it with his eyes closed, but he wouldn't do it because that was a safety hazard and he didn't want to run into structures in the Clock.

The light blue doors slid open once it sensed the presence of XJ-0461 in front of them. The young Zoni floated in and looked around, quickly spotting Sigmund, who was expectingly at the base of Mnemonic Station Iota. He was tapping away on his screen, updating the station so it would run properly. However, he was so absorbed in what he was doing that he didn't seem to notice that XJ-0461 had entered the room. XJ-0461 tilted his head at his unaware friend and then stiffened a small chuckle. This was an opportunity that he could not pass up.

Setting his Chronoscepter silently on the floor, the Zoni zipped over to Sigmund without making a sound. He lifted himself up over the robot and gently placed himself on top of the robot's head. Because Sigmund was not a Zoni or made of quantum energy, XJ-0461 was not able to make contact with him, therefore Sigmund could not feel him. Knowing this made a bit of a mischievous smile form on XJ-0461's face as he went through with his idea. The small Zoni moved forward and looked at Sigmund's face by flipping himself upside down.

"Hello."

"GAHHH!" Sigmund yelled in surprise and practically threw himself backward as XJ-0461 surprised him. The young Zoni flipped himself right-side up and covered his mouth to hide the onslaught of giggles that was quickly rising up in him. Sigmund had to take a moment to compose himself. He was already a jumpy robot, so having someone startle him really took it out of him. He saw his Zoni friend floating a few feet away and he gave a slight sigh of relief. "Oh, it's just you, XJ-0461. Hoo...you really got me there. I didn't hear you come in at all."

XJ-0461 calmed down and settled into a still hovering position. He gave a guilty smile, "My apologies. I could not help it."

"No no, it's okay. Because of you, I'm totally wide awake now," Sigmund said, adjusting the metal ring that hung from his torso. He grabbed his screen and checked to make sure he didn't hit it and damage it, but everything was the way it was, so he pushed the screen aside. He noticed the look in XJ-0461's eyes. They were filled with excitement. Sigmund rubbed the back of his head. It looked like that they were really going through with this. He looked at his friend, "So, I suppose that you need me for some, ahem...interplanetary travel?"

"That is why I came to see you, yes," XJ-0461 said with a nod, suddenly becoming a bit more serious. He placed a hand on his waist and told Sigmund about his cover. "I told my father that I would be studying all day, and he said that he would not interrupt me. So we do not need to worry about him looking for me."

"You've definitely put more thought into this than I have," Sigmund said a bit quietly. He opened up the compartment in his chest and pulled out the familiar glass Home Orb. "Looks like you'll be needing this again."

XJ-0461 looked a bit confused, "Is that where you keep it? Why did you eat it yesterday if you could simply put it in there?"

"I panicked..." the robot said innocently.

The Zoni couldn't help but chuckle a little when he recalled the event. It seemed odd at the time, and it actually still was, but he was now finding it rather humorous. But he moved on so Sigmund wouldn't have to relive the embarrassment. "Well, the past is in the past. Come, let us make our way to the Solana planet room. We should send me to Veldin before my father sees us and becomes suspicious. After all, I am supposed to be absorbed in studying right now."

"Alright, alright, let's go. You are one eager Zoni."

XJ-0461 shrugged and rubbed the back of his head, feeling a bit guilty for pushing Sigmund along so fast. He wasn't wanting to seem rude, he was just so excited to go to Veldin again. But he knew that in future times he would have to ease up a bit. Sigmund was already doing so much for him, he didn't want to push the robot around and make him rush what he was doing. But a reassuring look from Sigmund himself told him that his friend understood his excitement. Sigmund hovered over and picked up XJ-0461's Chronoscepter and handed it to him. The Zoni gladly took his Chronoscepter and thanked his friend for retrieving it for him. The two then set off for the Solana Planet room.

As the two caretakers made their way through the familiar labyrinth of the Great Clock, a thought occurred to XJ-0461. One that he had quickly stuffed away when he was talking to his father earlier and forgot about when he had successfully used his cover story. XJ-0461 looked over at Sigmund as they crossed a shimmering gold and blue glass bridge connection two platforms.

"Sigmund, can I ask you something? I do not know if it is something that I am not allowed to know about or not, as my father did not wish to speak about it when I was talking to him earlier."

"What is it?" Sigmund asked, looking a bit curious.

"My father said that there was some sort of disruption in the Zoni Dimension. He said that it was because of some sort of incident. What happened?" XJ-0461, feeling more concerned about this than he expected to be.

Usually, when it came to information that XJ-0461 wanted to know, Sigmund would gladly give it to him or politely turn the Zoni down and say that he can't reveal it. This time, however, there was an unsettling atmosphere around Sigmund. His joints stiffened and became tense as if rust had suddenly formed on them. He shook his head quickly. "I-I'm sorry, XJ-0461, but I can't tell you anything about...what happened. Orvus doesn't want you to know about it. It's...it's..."

Sigmund seemed to shutter and he could feel himself on the brink of a panic attack as he recalled sudden memories. Luckily XJ-0461 caught this and changed the subject as quick as he possibly could, "It is alright, perhaps it is best if I do not know. A Junior Caretaker must be good at keeping secrets after all. Let us move onto...onto, uh...th-the stars look rather nice today."

XJ-0461 turned Sigmund's attention to the stars that dotted the space outside of the Clock. At the sight of them and with the conversation having moved on, he was able to start becoming calm once again. He stared at the little dots all around and shrugged, "The stars look nice every day."

A small smile came onto XJ-0461's face, "Yes, they do. A lot of people enjoy them. I suppose you could say that, when it comes to space, they are real _superstars._ Hehehehe!"

Sigmund watched with a smile as the giggly Zoni amused himself. He let out a small laugh as he finally managed to fully calm down, "You have Orvus's jokes _and_ his laugh. You got the whole humor package."

"I hear that it is one of his best traits," said a bit proudly, but he was hiding a huge sense of relief because Sigmund didn't end up freaking out. Sigmund looking out for XJ-0461 wasn't a one-sided job, as XJ-0461 had to look out for the robot as well. They looked out for each other. But even though XJ-0461 was happy that his friend had calmed down, he still couldn't help but wonder what kind of event would trigger bad memories. It only made his need to know what this incident was grow stronger. One that would upset the Zoni, even cause a disruption in the Zoni Dimension. It sounded bizarre. But, for the sake of his father and his friend, he would keep this particular curiosity away for now. The young Zoni motioned forward with his Chronoscepter, "Come, let us move along and go to the Solana Planet room."

"Yes! Right! Moving along," Sigmund said, going alongside his friend. The haunting memories that had almost come back to him were pushed back down.

The two made it to the Solana Planet room fairly quickly, as they did not need to sneak their way in this time (that was more of a relief for Sigmund than it was for XJ-0461). XJ-0461 with barely contained excitement zipped over to the Veldin model. His large, luminous green eyes scanned the brown planet as he had done the day before. A smile came to his face as he recalled the area that he had been sent to in order to fix the time anomaly. Though he couldn't quite find its location on the model due to its large size and Veldin's plethora of similar chasms, he supposed that he could study the model another time to find just where that chasm was. It could be like a game.

Ready for his trip, XJ-0461, Chronoscepter and Home Orb in hand, landed on the pedestal that would usually initiate the time anomaly repair sequence and waited patiently for Sigmund to ready the teleportation pad that was hidden within it. As Sigmund typed quickly on his attached monitor, XJ-0461 made sure to keep an eye out for any suspicious Zoni or his father. His cover story may have worked, but things could go wrong very easily. If they were to be caught they would have a lot of explaining to do. And even then it wouldn't end well.

Sigmund typed in the final digits in his screen and pushed it slightly to the side. "Alright, that'll do it. Just say the word and you'll be off to Veldin again."

XJ-0461 nodded, "I am ready. But do not forget that my father believes that I am studying. We cannot break this cover story."

"Roger that, good buddy," the robot said with a playful salute. He prepared the teleportation process, but before he could send XJ-0461 away, the Zoni spoke up.

"I cannot thank you enough for doing this for me, Sigmund. You are going through all of this trouble to help me. I could not be more grateful."

"Ahh, it's nothing. Well...actually it's _something_ because we're doing something that we're not supposed to be doing, but...wait, where was I going with this?" Sigmund trailed off a bit. He then shook his head and tried to focus again, "I-I'm just really happy to do this for you. I don't want you feeling trapped. That's the worst feeling in the world. I remember Planet Viceron when they were planning to...ah, nevermind that."

XJ-0461 tilted his head at that sudden bit of information. He tried to hear the rest of it, "What were they planning to do on Planet Viceron? And who is 'they'?"

"I-It's nothing. Not important. Now then, let's get you to Veldin!" The robot said, looking unsettled as he activated the teleportation system. When XJ-0461 felt himself being pulled away, Sigmund sent him a small wave. "Have fun!"

"B-Bye," XJ-0461 with a bit of concern in his voice. He didn't expect that from Sigmund. It sounded like what he was going to say was actually important, but brushed it off with what looked like...fear? XJ-0461 frowned as he felt the familiar rough sensation of being teleported. He wondered what Sigmund wanted to say.

After what felt like a few minutes of being flung through the galaxy and being pushed around by various gravities, XJ-0461 felt himself come to a stop. The Zoni shook his head so he could shake off the wild ride of the teleportation system. He hoped that they could find a smoother way of teleportation because that method was going to get tiresome rather quickly. When XJ-0461 opened his eyes, he was met with what he wanted to call his friend, the sun. It seemed to have just risen, as it was slightly hiding behind tall rock formations as it rose. The sky was a refreshing pale blue that would become the lovely sky blue once the sun was fully up.

XJ-0461 looked around a bit. The oranges and reds of the land still greeted his glowing green eyes with warmth, and the scattered plants blew ever so slightly with the gentle breeze. The young Zoni had to take a moment to take it all in once again. It was as beautiful as the first time he had come to Veldin. And it was still a breath of fresh air.

However, he knew that he wasn't just here for sightseeing. There was someone that he had to find. XJ-0461 knew the place that he had arrived at. It was the same chasm that once held the time irregularity that he had been sent to fix. The same place where he had met Ratchet after saving him from a deadly fall. So, knowing this information all he had to do was...all he had to do was...

"Oh dear," XJ-0461 said, his shoulders dropping a bit. Despite being on Veldin, despite being in the same location where he had met Ratchet, XJ-0461 had overlooked something very obvious.

He didn't know where Ratchet lived.

XJ-0461 scolded himself for not thinking about something that was so crucial. How as he supposed to see Ratchet again if he didn't even know where Ratchet lived? He didn't expect to simply see Ratchet again in the chasm. This was a very poor mistake on his part. If only he had a clue to where Ratchet was, he could follow it and-

" _So what brings you here, Ratchet?"_

 _"I don't live far from here," Ratchet explained. "I saw weird things happening in this chasm and decided to go check it out."_

XJ-0461 snapped his fingers (even though they didn't make a sound) and quickly zipped upwards out of the chasm. Ratchet said that he didn't live far and that he saw the distortions that the time irregularity caused from where he was. If XJ-0461 could fly up high enough he might have been able to find Ratchet's house from the good vantage point. So, with good speed, the young Zoni traveled up into the air and climbed as high as he found necessary.

The young Zoni could reach up and touch one of the lower clouds if he wanted to by the time he decided to stop. The ground below was now a large canvas of reds, oranges, and browns, and the rock formations below looked like that they were reaching up to him. XJ-0461, with his new vantage point, searched the area below. There was a small town northwest of the chasm, but not close enough to be able to see the time irregularity distortions. Besides that, there wasn't much. Veldin was a backwater planet for a reason. There were many dismantled buildings here and there that didn't look habitable, so he doubted that Ratchet was one of those. The only left that he could see being a possibility was what looked like a small...garage he believed was what people called it? A dark blue garage that sat on the edge of the plateau. It was close to the chasm and it looked habitable.

Deciding that it was his best bet, XJ-0461 zipped down and made his way towards the stray garage, hoping that he was right about it.

 _Meanwhile..._

Ratchet's green eyes stared at the book, his brow furrowing as he shook his head. He turned the page and repeated his actions. The same with the next page. And the next. He shook his head as he couldn't make heads or tails of this. He couldn't find a matching species.

Ever since his encounter with XJ-0461 in the chasm, he had been thinking about the strange creature. He was obviously a powerful being and very exotic, as he had never even heard of something like XJ-0461 before. A creature made of quantum energy that stopped weird distortions...it didn't make any sense to him. After a rough night of rest, Ratchet had grabbed an encyclopedia of intelligent species and races throughout the galaxy and attempted to get a clue of what XJ-0461 was. However, he was having no luck. He had looked through the encyclopedia twice and still wasn't able to find anything like that creature.

Valkyrie? XJ-0461 wasn't a Valkyrie because he was male (at least Ratchet believed he was).

Technomite? He was too big to be a Technomite (Ratchet didn't believe that Technomites existed, but he originally didn't think that floating green creatures made of quantum energy existed, either).

Loki? He didn't look vicious enough to be a Loki (Ratchet didn't think XJ-0461 would hurt a fly, he seemed so polite).

Dragalith? Well, that species was just sounded ridiculous, there was no way that XJ-0461 was one (to Ratchet it sounded like someone just made it up).

The Lombax grew a bit irritated as he reached the end of the encyclopedia for the third time. Vullard, War Grok, Wigwump, and...Zyphoid. And none of them fit XJ-0461's description one bit. Ratchet tossed the encyclopedia aside and laid back in his recliner, his hands behind his head. This was such a mystery to him, and he had no idea why he was so determined to uncover it. He remembered XJ-0461 telling him that he could not reveal his species, but why? What was he? What was he capable of? Ratchet had so many questions to ask the little guy. It would bring a bit of excitement to his life if he could find out more about this strange creature. Though Ratchet knew that it was going to be awhile before he saw XJ-0461 again. Actually, he didn't know if he would see the little guy again at all. Maybe it was time to just let it go.

Ratchet sighed and got up out of his recliner. He turned to his workbench, which was littered with robot parts and blueprints. He stood up straight and walked towards it. "Welp, back to the old grind, I guess."

"What is the 'old grind', I may ask?"

Ratchet felt his heart nearly jump out of his chest as he was startled by a sudden voice responding to him. The Lombax nearly tripped over himself in surprise, and he whipped around, ready to fight with whoever was coming into his home. However, he quickly snapped out of his defensive stance as he saw a familiar glowing green creature float inside. The large green eyes and long ribbons assured him that this was, in fact, XJ-0461.

Still startled from before, Ratchet had to take a moment to compose himself before looking up at XJ-0461. "Oh, it's you again. I didn't expect you to just wander into my house and surprise me like that."

XJ-0461 gasped a bit and even looked rather guilty as he frowned, "I-I am so sorry! You do not have a door and I cannot knock or ring a doorbell or-"

"Whoa whoa, easy there, little guy. It's alright," Ratchet said, not expecting the creature to freak out like that. But he still asked a question that he had, "So what are you doing here, anyway? Another weird distortion for you to take care of?"

The young Zoni shook his head, "No, I am not here on business. I am actually just here to see you, Ratchet."

"Me?" The Lombax asked, putting a hand on his chest.

"Yes. I wish to speak with you and I wish to get to know you better," he said, looking rather happy. "I also wish to understand organics better, as we do not have them where I live."

"Okay, that's uh...cool." Ratchet honestly didn't know what to say. He didn't expect this at all. XJ-0461 actually came to visit him just to talk to him? That was...bizarre. Certainly not something that Ratchet thought was going to happen today. But, he had to admit, it was kind of...nice. No one ever came to visit him at his garage (except angry customers). Besides, this was a great opportunity to ask XJ-0461 about what he was and where he came from. This wasn't a chance that Ratchet could pass up. So, in an attempt to be hospitable, the Lombax motioned XJ-0461 over towards the kitchen area where a table and a chair sat. "Well, if that's the case, come on it. You came all the way out here to talk to me, so I can't just shoo you away."

XJ-0461 eagerly followed Ratchet over to the kitchen area. As he was a floating creature that couldn't actually sit down on furniture, the Zoni simply hovered lazily at one side of the table. Ratchet went over to the refrigerator and opened it, grabbing a can of soda. He looked over at his guest, "You want anything to drink?"

XJ-0461 tilted his head and then shook it, "Oh, I cannot eat or drink anything. As I have not matured into an adult body, I have no digestive system, and therefore cannot consume anything. Though I appreciate the offer."

"Okay then," Ratchet replied, slightly grossed out as that was more information that I needed to know. As he opened his soda and made his way to the table, another question came to him, "So how long do you plan on being here? Not being rude or anything, I'm just wonderin'."

"Well, I must have enough energy to be able to travel home. And I cannot stay for a terribly long time or else my father might get worried about me," XJ-0461 said as Ratchet sat down.

Part of what the Zoni said caught Ratchet's attention. He raised an eyebrow, "You have a family? I thought you were a sort of lone wolf kind of species since you came here all by yourself."

"Yes, I do have a family. My father cares for me and trains me for duties I will have to perform in the future. He is always telling me that he is proud of me, though I believe he is overusing the term at this point..."

"Must be nice..." Ratchet mumbled a bit, taking a quick drink of his soda before continuing. "So, what's your mom like?"

"M...Mom...?" XJ-0461 said a bit quietly, tilting his head. He frowned, "I...do not have one of those."

"Oh, yeesh, I'm sorry," the Lombax said, his ears lowering a bit. He didn't mean to bring up what was apparently a harsh subject for XJ-0461. "What happened to her?"

"Nothing happened. I only have a father."

"You must have a mom. How else could you have been born?"

XJ-0461 was genuinely confused, and he recalled how his father created him, "My father fused quantum energy and lifeforce from many beings and planets in order to create and give me life. A...'mom' was not involved."

"Oh..." Ratchet said, actually a bit interested in hearing more about the birthing process of XJ-0461's species. It sounded cool. But it seemed that XJ-0461 was curious as well.

"What is the mom's role in making the offspring? How are organic children made?"

Ratchet nearly choked on his drink as XJ-0461 asked the embarrassing question. He coughed a few times before shaking his head, "Okay, I know that you're curious and all and you want to learn more about organics, but I am _not_ answering that."

"Oh, alright. We may move on," the Zoni said. But he had another question. He had noticed that Ratchet was rather alone in his garage and there was no sign of anyone else living there, so he had to wonder about something. "Where is your mom and father?"

Ratchet's fingers dented the soda can a bit as they tensed up. He tried to hide the hostile look in his eyes and he lowered his head a bit. His breathing was uneven for a moment before he answered in a strained and empty voice, "I don't have any."

XJ-0461's eyes went wide as this was revealed to him. He felt the knife of guilt return to him and stab him in the side. He lost his composure as he was overcome with the horrible feeling. "O-Oh! Oh dear, I-I am so sorry! I did not know and-"

"It's fine," Ratchet interrupted the guilty Zoni with a more strained voice. He took a breath before raising his head a bit and looking at XJ-0461, who was genuinely upset about where the conversation had gone. Ratchet waved it off, "Look, just don't worry about it. Let's talk about something else."

"R-Right, of course. Um..." the Zoni looked down for a moment, ashamed of bringing down the atmosphere and stressing Ratchet out. He tried to think of something else to talk about, but his mind was a bit fuzzy as he felt so bad. To live without parents...it must have been horrible. XJ-0461 felt so bad for Ratchet that it was almost overwhelming.

"Hey, little guy, are you alright?" Ratchet asked, actually concerned for the small creature. XJ-0461 looked distraught without even noticing. It looked like that the info about Ratchet not having parents hit him a bit too hard. The Lombax relaxed a bit to lower the tension and even put on a small smile, "I already told you, it's fine. You can relax. We're here to talk right? We can't talk if you're all guilt-ridden. And even if we do, it takes the fun out of it. So lighten up, okay?"

The Zoni looked at Ratchet with large surprised eyes. He didn't expect Ratchet to say something like that. It almost sounded like something that Sigmund or his father would say. And thinking of that made him feel a bit more comfortable. XJ-0461 nodded and relaxed, "I am alright now. Thank you, Ratchet."

"You're thanking me? For what?"

"For helping me compose myself. What you said was short but...it helped me. You are right, if I am here to talk, then I should make sure that we have fun while we do," XJ-0461 said, a determined yet warm smile on his face.

Ratchet stared at XJ-0461 for a moment before rubbing the back of his head bashfully. He then tossed the now empty soda can into the nearby garbage can and turned to the small creature with a determined smile of his own. It looked like that this was the beginning of an unexpected friendship. And he was alright with it.

"So, what do you want to talk about first?"

* * *

 **Nearly 7,000 words for this chapter...hoo boy.**

 **A lot happened in this chapter, didn't it? Orvus is working himself to death, Sigmund is hiding something, and XJ-0461 and Ratchet seem to be forming a friendship with one another.**

 **But what will happen in the future chapters? Stick around to find out...well, I mean don't _actually_ stick around. Just wait until Gmail sends you a notification telling you that I've updated. It's one of those "you don't have to leave but you can't stay here" kind of situations. Yeah.**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, signing off!**


	8. Reincarnated

The used-to-be rising Veldin sun was climbing through the sky, adjusting the shadows that were cast due to its shining light, and settled a bit more than halfway of its usual path. Bits of dust blew with the wind and stray plants tumbled across the rocky land. Very little lifeforms were found on the flat Kyzil Plateau that rose above the terrain. Horny Toads hopped lazily as they laid down on the warm ground for an afternoon nap, Dino Bords soared in the clear blue sky and searched the land for their next meal, and in a stray garage on the edge of the plateau, two particularly unique creatures sat comfortably, sharing a conversation.

Ratchet and XJ-0461 had talked for hours. And the conversation went everywhere.

At first, XJ-0461, after Ratchet asked what he wished to speak about first, wanted to know a bit about Ratchet himself. Ratchet explained to the Zoni that he was the member of an endangered race called 'Lombaxes'and that he had never met another one of his species before, which saddened XJ-0461 because he saw members of his species on a daily basis. Ratchet also told him that he lived alone, as he had lived on Veldin his whole life with no family, and had a small mechanic shop business that took place right in his garage. There were many types of ships that Ratchet had worked on, but the hardest job he had to do was for a Starjumper that needed engine repairs. Ratchet explained that he had to work so delicately that it took him a long, careful night to finish it. But he managed to repair it and was paid well, so it all ended up nice in the end.

XJ-0461 listened to every bit of information with fascination. He was amazed at how different he and Ratchet's lifestyles were. And he admired how happy Ratchet seemed to be despite his poor conditions. But he wasn't the only one who was interested in other's lifestyles. Of course, Ratchet had questions of his own, though XJ-0461 had a hard time answering some of them. Ratchet asked about what planet he lived on and what his species was like and what his father did. XJ-0461 tried his best to explain without revealing any important information. He told Ratchet that his species didn't live on a planet, but in another dimension. This, of course, surprised Ratchet and gained his interest very quickly, and asked if he came from there. The Zoni hesitated for a moment before telling Ratchet that he did. There was a bit of truth-twisting in there because the reveal of the Great Clock was at risk. XJ-0461 said that the dimension he came from is very beautiful and nothing like anything Ratchet had ever seen, despite him not actually having been to the Zoni Dimension before. He simply made it up as he went along. He even butchered his father's status among his race, saying that he was simply a 'higher up'.

Ratchet wanted some details, but, not comfortable with how much Ratchet wanted to know about him, he had to keep his secrets after all, XJ-0461 turned the conversation back to Ratchet and asked what he was planning to do in the future. It was then that the conversation took on a more solemn tone as the Lombax put down what was now his fifth soda and lowered his voice. It was then that the Lombax revealed to XJ-0461 that he was very unsure of the future. There was something that he wanted to do, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. XJ-0461 was a bit surprised when Ratchet told him what it was.

"You wish to leave the planet?" XJ-0461 asked, tilting his head.

"Yeah," Ratchet said with a nod. "I know that I have my own place here and a mechanic business and everything, and I'm pretty happy the way everything is for the most part, but there's a whole universe out there for me to explore! I can't stay put on this rock. You know what I mean?"

The Zoni felt what Ratchet said hit home more than he expected it to, as he thought the same way when he was trapped in the Great Clock. He nodded his head, "I know exactly what you mean. But what is stopping you?"

"I, uh..." the Lombax looked almost ashamed as he recalled the reason for why he wouldn't leave. "I'm nervous, I guess. This planet is all I've known. Going out into places that I don't know by myself with no plan, it's kind of unsettling. There's a transit that comes here every few hours that transports people to Planet Kerwan, and I can't bring myself to get on it. It's stupid, I know. I'm sure I'll bring myself to do it someday."

"It is not stupid in the least bit," XJ-0461 said with a serious tone, surprising Ratchet. "You do not know this, Ratchet, but I have felt the same way before. I did not know how to bring myself to ask my father about leaving the cl...excuse me, our home dimension. And when I did, he...was not happy. So I had to take it upon myself to leave and explore the outside universe for myself."

XJ-0461 felt a strong feeling of regret in him as he realized that he may have revealed too much. But the strong sense of sympathy he felt for Ratchet seemed to have overtaken his mind for a brief moment and removed all logic from him. He expected many questions from Ratchet after saying all of this new information, questions that he didn't want to answer because he would need to make up more lies to protect certain sensitive information, and he had no one to blame but himself if Ratchet did. But, to his surprise, all Ratchet did was give a small smile and looked at him with gentle green eyes.

"Wow, you're a courageous little guy. I would give anything to be you."

XJ-0461 shook his head, "No you would not. You should be happy to be who you are. Besides, being me would not exactly be pleasant. The chores that I am subjected to on a daily basis have become rather dull and almost painful to do. Also, I cannot touch anything that is not from my race."

"Wha...really?" The Lombax asked, raising an eyebrow and sitting up.

"Yes. My body is made of quantum energy, so I can only come into contact with things that are also made of or laced with quantum energy, and my race has bodies made of energy, so they are the only ones that I am able to actually touch."

"So, you're made up of nothing but quantum energy and you can only touch things that your species produces? That's...interesting," Ratchet said, tapping his finger on the top of his soda can. "Wait, so you don't have a digestive system like you told me, but you don't have any other organs, either? No heart, lungs, kidney, none of those?"

XJ-0461 shook his head, "No, I am only energy. I do not have a skeleton or muscles. I do not even have nerves, either. I cannot feel."

"You can't feel? Like, even things that can touch you, you can't feel?" Ratchet's ears perked up in surprise as XJ-0461 shook his head. His ears then lowered a bit, "So...when your father hugs you, you don't feel it?"

"The only thing I feel is some slight pressure, but that is it. I cannot feel warm or cold or pain or anything like that. My body cannot give me the sensation of touch."

"Do you ever wish that it could?"

XJ-0461 formed a sad smile, "All of the time, I do. I wish that I did not have to be restricted to touching things that come from my species. I cannot even make real contact with my good friend because he is a robot. I cannot hug him or anything like that. I just have to try my best to simulate it."

"Wow, that's...really sad, actually," Ratchet said, his ears lowering. "I'm sorry, dude."

"It is alright. I have gotten used to it," the Zoni said, waving off the apology. "It has been fifteen years since I have been dealing with it, so I was bound to get used to it eventually."

"Wait, you're only fifteen?" Ratchet asked, nearly standing up after hearing this. "I thought that you would be, like, one of those species that are hundreds of years old!"

"Oh no, my species does have an incredibly long lifespan, it is just a rather odd case with me. I age like any normal organic would, though my body is clearly not quite the same. But when I mature into my actual body, my aging process will slow drastically and that is when I will get to become hundreds of years old."

"You really are an odd case..." The Lombax thought that this creature got more interesting by the minute. Makes him wonder why he would bother with a lowlife like him. It was actually something he was meaning to ask. However, the moment he opened his mouth-

 _CRASH! CLANG!_

The duo nearly jumped out of their skin (or quantum energy for XJ-0461) as a loud crashing noise came from the other side of the garage. Nearly spilling his soda, Ratchet shot up from his seat and ran over to where the crash had come from, XJ-0461 hovering behind him as he was wondering what the cause of the loud noise was. The Lombax came to a halt next to his workbench and looked down at what appeared to be a bumpy tarp. XJ-0461 tilted his head and blinked his large green eyes, wondering what was underneath. When Ratchet moved the tarp, a pile of scrap metal and robot parts was revealed, several of the items rolling down and crashing on the floor. XJ-0461 watched what looked like a robot's head roll over to him. The eyes were dark and lifeless, and the silver metal was slightly rusted. The Zoni hummed curiously. He wondered what Sigmund would think of this.

Ratchet grabbed all of the parts that had rolled away and stuffed them roughly back under the tarp, grabbing any parts that attempted to fall again. He sighed, "Looks like the pile was just unsettled and some parts fell. I don't think anything is broken."

"Why do you have so many robot parts underneath this tarp?" XJ-0461 asked, tilting his head a bit.

"I collect spare parts from the nearby dump. You never know when they're gonna come in handy. And they're covered up because...well, you have to promise not to tell anyone. I could get in trouble for it."

"I will not tell anyone. But...why would you get in trouble for it?"

"Well..." Ratchet put his hand underneath the tarp and dug around the scrap pile, wincing a few times as he was poked with some rather sharp scraps. His ears twitched when he located what he was looking for. XJ-0461 tilted his head once again when the Lombax pulled out a robot head. It was round with a spiky jaw and a single eye, it looked rather intimidating. Ratchet held up the head, "This here is a warbot head. I a bunch of have warbot parts in here. Apparently, some dude named Drek produced warbots to help gather parts from planets so he could make his own planet, but his plan didn't go so well and his industry went bankrupt. His warbot factory, an all of the warbots, shut down, and all of the warbot bodies were dumped at dumps all around the Solana galaxy. When I saw that some were dumped here on Veldin, I dragged their parts here to use. I'm really not supposed to have them, so I hide them under the tarp and blend them in with the other robot parts."

"Fascinating," XJ-0461 said, observing the head.

"Yeah, but I found a little something special when I went through the warbot pile. Something that I doubt anyone else has."

"Oh? I am interested. What is it?"

"I usually wouldn't show this to anyone since it's a personal project, but...I can trust you." Ratchet motioned XJ-0461 over to the nearby workbench. The Zoni somewhat eagerly followed him and hovered over by the workbench. He looked down at the desk and noticed that there was another tarp, or rather a small blanket, on top of it and it appeared to be covering something. XJ-0461 wondered if this was what Ratchet was going to show him. Sure enough, the Lombax turned on the light over the workbench and grabbed the blanket, "Take a look at this!"

Ratchet pulled the blanket off to reveal what looked like a small robot laying on the workbench. It had a round head with an attached jaw, similar to the warbot head, and an antenna with a red bulb on top. It had two big eyes that were pitch black and devoid of life. Its torso was in a box shape and two short arms, along with big three-fingered hands, and legs with simple feet. Its design was simple and had a rather harmless appearance. XJ-0461 smiled a bit as he thought that it looked a bit cute. But he wondered what the significance of it was.

"It looks like a simple robot," XJ-0461 said.

"It is a robot, but it's a rather special robot," Ratchet said. He patted the lifeless robot on the chest and smiled almost proudly, "This is a defective warbot. It came from the same factory as the Drek guy's warbots, and it has the same casing, too. I was surprised to find this little guy with the other warbots. When I did, I brought him home and spruced him up."

"Why would you go through that effort if you only plan on using these robots for parts?" The Zoni asked.

the Lombax scratched the back of his ear, "Well, I plan on using the other warbots for parts, but I've been thinking about using this guy."

"You plan on using it? What for?"

"Just as a service bot. It could make my life a lot easier if I had some help around here." Ratchet scratched off some dirt that was on the robot's casing, "I just got done cleaning him up. I still have to tap into his programming and remove the warbot coding. Though it'll completely take away his personality and make him kind of...bland. But I'd rather have that than have him trying to shoot me all of the time."

"So he will be a rather empty robot, hm?" XJ-0461 said, taking a bit of pity on the robot.

"Yeah, I know, it sounds awful, but I can't program personality," The Lombax said, shrugging.

"If you could program it with a personality, what would you have him be like?"

"Well..." Ratchet put a hand on his chin. His eyes then drifted over to XJ-0461 and he gave a small smile, "To be honest, I would kind of want it to be like you."

"Me?" The Zoni asked, surprised.

"Yeah. You're pretty smart as far as I'm aware. And you're actually fun to talk to. I know that it's weird to say that since we haven't known each other that long, but I feel like I know you enough. So yeah, I'd want it to be like you..." A thought then came to Ratchet. He put his hand back on his chin and pondered the thought. He wanted the robot to be like XJ-0461. Was that...could he...? The thought then formed into an idea. It was a crazy idea, but it was one that he was really curious about. Ratchet turned to XJ-0461, who was wondering about what the Lombax was thinking. "Hey, so this is a crazy idea, but...do you think that you could get _in_ the robot?"

"Can I _what_?" XJ-0461 asked, looking very confused on why Ratchet would think of something like that. He looked at the lifeless robot, "I...um..."

"You're not...what's the word...corporeal, right? And you're made of energy? What if you phase into the robot and act as its lifeforce? You could bring life to it! It's just an empty husk, after all." Ratchet said, thinking that his reasoning sounded rather stupid after he said it.

"Um...while it is not an impossible thought..." The Zoni said, trying to figure out Ratchet's logic, "I do not think that it is a good idea. It is like you said, the robot already has a personality with its warbot coding. So even if I could fuse myself with it, the warbot coding could take over."

"I can fix that." Ratchet opened up the drawer underneath the workbench and dug through it, tossing aside some stray screws and a few broken pencils, and pulled out a computer screen that XJ-0461 noticed was somewhat similar to the one that Sigmund carried around with him. He also pulled out a cable with plugs on each end. He plugged in one end of the cable into the screen while powering it on. "I'll terminate the warbot code and turn this robot into a fresh empty husk for you."

"Are you sure about this...?" XJ-0461 asked with uncertainty.

"Yeah, this will actually be really cool for you. If it works that is," Ratchet said. He powered on his computer screen and adjusted the cord. He opened up the panel on top of the warbot's head and reached inside, plugging in the other end of the cable. The Lombax then glanced at XJ-0461, "Besides, you could finally be a solid being. You could finally walk and touch things and everything."

"That may be so, but I still will not be able to feel anything. Robots do not feel the sensation of touch."

"That's where you're wrong. Sort of." XJ-0461 tilted his head at this. Ratchet explained, "Most robots are born without the sense of touch, yeah, but the sense can actually be put into the robots by uploading haptic sensors into their bodies."

"Haptic sensors?"

"Yeah. And I just happen to know the code that activates these sensors. So, if you can possess this robot's body, you'll be a physical person and you'll be able to feel things."

XJ-0461 was amazed to hear this very interesting news. If he could merge himself with the empty robot body, he would be an actual physical person. One who could walk and touch things and feel things. XJ-0461 was having a hard time grasping the idea of this reality. It was something that he had been dreaming about for years. Of course, his dream of leaving the Great Clock had been greater, but it was still one that he wanted to come true. He would actually be able to feel the warmth of the sun and the gentle breeze. He would actually be able to hold things that weren't just for the Zoni. Just thinking about it put a wonderful smile on his face. But the smile slowly faded away as a question came to him. He looked at Ratchet with a confused look.

"This all sounds amazing, Ratchet, but...why are you willing to do this for me?"

Ratchet looked almost surprised at the question. He looked up from his work for a moment to rub the back of his head. He looked a bit embarrassed as he answered, "Well, to be honest, I'm not exactly sure myself. I guess it's cause...you're the first person who came to me with the sole purpose of just talking. And not, like, angry talking either like some people have. You just wanted to know more about me, and it was actually kind of nice. So...I guess it's my way of saying thanks?"

XJ-0461 blinked his large green eyes and a warm smile came onto his face, "Well, it is rather pleasant talking to you."

Ratchet nodded and looked back at the screen, "Alright, things are getting too mushy. And that's weird since you're someone I kind of just met. Let me just finish reprogramming this robot and then we'll see if you can go into it."

The Zoni nodded and waited ever so patiently for Ratchet to finish the reprogramming process. XJ-0461 couldn't help but smile a bit as he watched the Lombax type rapidly on the screen. The way he did it reminded him of Sigmund. The sudden thought of his good friend though caused him to slightly look up at the ceiling as if he could see the Great Clock through it. He wondered what Sigmund was doing at the moment. He hoped that his friend wasn't lonely or missing him. Or both. Perhaps he could spend time with Sigmund tomorrow and watch cartoons in the Orientation Room. XJ-0461 may have been mature in personality, but he always loved watching cartoons with his friend. It was one of his favorite pastimes.

Several minutes passed by and XJ-0461 was still waiting patiently. Ratchet stuck his tongue out a bit as he finally spoke.

"Alright, I'm about done here. Just activate the last of the haptic sensors." XJ-0461 slightly hovered over Ratchet's shoulder in order to observe the work. The screen was covered in various codes. He was a smart Zoni, but codes were not something that he was strong in. Though he did plan on learning about them in the future. The last code on the screen popped up and Ratchet pushed the screen aside. He disconnected the cables and nodded, "That should do it. This robot is now an emptyheaded shell. All it needs now if a green floaty thing to go inside it and possess it."

XJ-0461 looked down at the robot, then at Ratchet, "Are you sure about this?"

"Nope, but give it a shot anyway."

"Okay, then..."

The Zoni looked down at the robot body once more. It looked completely lifeless like it had never been alive in the first place. It needed energy. It needed someone to bring it to life. XJ-0461 felt so much pity for the robot that he was willing to do this for it rather than himself. He reflected on what a ridiculous and crazy idea this was. Using his incorporeal body to possess an empty robot body, he had no idea whether or not this was possible. His father had never told him if it was possible and neither did any of the books he read. This was a first for Zonikind. It was a first for him. And there was only one way to find out if it was going to work or not.

Taking a deep breath with his nonexistent lungs, XJ-0461 took one last look at the robot's body before closing his eyes. With doubt haunting his mind, he threw himself forward, unsure about what was going to happen next.

...

...

...

...Darkness.

All there was...was darkness.

XJ-0461 couldn't open his eyes, he couldn't move, he couldn't even think. It was like his body had been shut off when he threw himself forward. If he had an active conscience at the moment, he would feel a bit afraid of the sudden change. But all he could do is...nothing. Nothing was going on around him. And there was just darkness...

 **Reboot Initiated**

Reboot initiated? What did that mean? Why was he seeing this? The only reason that he would be seeing this would be because he was a robot-

'Oh my goodness...' XJ-0461 thought to himself as his conscience returned to him. He was overwhelmed by surprise and concern when he could finally process emotion again. 'Do not tell me that I actually...!'

XJ-0461 opened his eyes the moment that his body would allow him to. Everything was in a shade of green, and programs littered the side of his vision. It seemed like each one was for a different part of him, such as hearing, processing, body status and...scanning? He wondered what that was. XJ-0461 also noticed that he was staring up at the ceiling as if he was laying down. Wait...he _was_ laying down. He could feel the pressure of the workbench on his back. XJ-0461 couldn't believe what was happening. Did he actually manage to merge himself with the warbot?

"Lookin' good there, buddy."

XJ-0461 was suddenly startled by Ratchet's sudden voice. The Lombax appeared over him and looked at him with a satisfied face. He blinked his eyes, his eyelids letting out a small clicking sound as he did. "Ratchet...is that...what..."

His voice was still the same, at least. Though talking with an actual voice box was a bit odd. Ratchet nodded, "I must say, you do look nice in that body. You even kept your green eyes. How does it feel?"

"It feels...odd..." XJ-0461 admitted.

"Well, let's just take this step by step, okay? This is all new to you after all. Try sitting up for one."

Doing this was rather simple. XJ-0461 moved his new arms back and pushed himself up onto his rear. His limbs made whir sounds as he moved them. But, when XJ-0461's hands made contact with the workbench, he was surprised to feel...feeling. He could feel the workbench! "I...I can touch the workbench...I feel it! It is...rough."

"You're doing great, XJ-045-"

"XJ-0461," he quickly corrected.

Ratchet folded his arms and shook his head, "That name, it's just...ugh, it's too hard to say. Well, it's not _hard_ to say, it's just tedious. Can I just give you a nickname?"

"A nickname?"

"Yeah...yeah, that would be cool. A new name for a new body!"

XJ-0461 tilted his head, though that felt a bit awkward as well, "What would my nickname be?"

Ratchet rubbed the side of his face, "Well, I did have a name for that body already, actually. I was going to call it this when I was going to turn it into a service bit, but I think it'll fit you well. Clank."

"Cl...Clank?" The robot repeated, narrowing his optics a bit. That was certainly a strange name.

"Yeah, I thought of it when I dropped it a few times and it made a 'clank' sound every time. What do you think?"

XJ-0461 pondered this nickname for a moment. It wasn't a bad name, it was just a bit strange. But, if it was easier for Ratchet, he supposed that he would go with it. Perhaps it would grow on him. "I will accept Clank as a nickname."

"Sweet," Ratchet said with a smile. He unfolded his arms and put his hands on the workbench, "So, newly dubbed Clank, how about we put you on the ground and you try walking?"

"Already?" Clank asked, surprised at how quick Ratchet was moving with this process.

"Well, unless you don't think that you're ready."

"Hmm..." Clank pondered it for a moment. While it would take him some time to get used to this new body, as everything he did in it felt awkward, he knew that walking was something very important and that he would have to learn how to do it sooner or later. He had been floating and hovering his whole life, after all. It was time that he learned. "Yes, I suppose that I am ready."

"Alright," Ratchet grabbed the back of Clank's casing. Clank could feel the leather on his gloves. It was a strange texture, but he was happy that he could know what it felt like. However, the thoughts of it went away as he was placed on his feet on the floor. "Go on and take a few steps."

When Clank was put on his feet, his legs began shaking. The sudden weight on them was something that he had not dealt with before. He was used to being a weightless quantum energy spirit and he never used his legs for walking, as he had no need to. Clank thought that he was going to collapse on the ground, but the servos in his legs were rather strong and held him up. It took him a minute to get his legs to stop shaking, though. When he was able to stand with a bit more confidence, Clank knew that it was ready to take his first step. So, gathering up all the will he had, he lifted up his right leg and moved it forward. The robot was very wobbly and felt himself losing his balance. But Ratchet was quick to his aid as the Lombax grabbed his shoulders and balanced him. Clank sighed, walking was harder than it looked.

After Ratchet balanced him again, Clank put his right foot forward again and planted it on the ground in front of him. So far so good. He then took his left foot and put it forward, moving forward and putting it on the ground. The servos in his legs were still strong and moving him with ease. Clank repeated the process with his right leg again. And then his left. Taking small step after step.

Ratchet nodded, "There ya go, now you're gettin' it."

"I must admit, it is a bit harder than I expected," Clank said, taking another few steps forward.

"You'll get used to it real quick, trust me."

The robot nodded and he continued with his strides. He kept going and going across the garage. With each step, Clank felt more confident in his ability to walk. And it was when he reached the doorway of the garage that he finally stopped. Proud of himself for successfully walking, Clank smiled to himself. He then felt a chuckle come out of him, which hadn't changed one bit despite the body change, as he realized how much fun he was having.

"Hm, never heard a laugh like that before," Ratchet muttered, walking over to Clank. He stood in the doorway with the robot and folded his arms. "So, how are you liking it so far?"

"This is wonderful," Clank said happily. He looked down at his new hands. It was like he was a completely different person now. But, despite being in a different body, he still felt like the same Zoni. He put his hands down and looked outside. There was still sunshine heating up the rocky ground. Clank then felt excited. He looked up at Ratchet, "Would you mind if I took this body outside?"

Ratchet looked down at the robot and shook his head, motioning to the outside, "Go for it, little guy. Just don't go too far."

Excited to receive permission, Clank took some more careful steps before going into a more confident walk. He could feel the rough and rocky terrain beneath his feet. Those haptic sensors were truly wonderful. But the terrain wasn't what he wanted to feel. The robot made his way over to where the sun was beating down on the ground. When he reached the end of the shadow that the garage was casting, he hesitated. The sun lit up the ground before him, almost making it look like completely different terrain. This was something that he had been waiting a long time for. With a Zoni soul full of hope and curiosity, Clank stepped into the sunlight and was met with an amazing feeling. He was overcome with warmth. A warmth that he had never felt before in his life. It was beautiful. The warmth of the sun hugged him and held him tight, and he enjoyed every second of it. The sun. He could feel the sun.

"Well you look like you're having fun," Ratchet said, appearing behind Clank. The robot jumped and looked up at the Lombax, looking a bit embarrassed for enjoying his first time in the sun. Ratchet picked up on his and knelt down on the ground, placing a hand on top of Clank's head. "You don't have to be embarrassed or anything. I'm actually pretty happy for you. This must be really cool for you to experience."

Clank felt Ratchet put his hand on top of his head. He smiled at the touch of the leather glove. Everything was so delightful right now. He still had a hard time believing that this was really happening. But it was. And he hoped that it could just go on forever. However, when Ratchet spoke, his delight was taken away.

"Hm, it's getting to be sunset already. We've been hangin' out for a while, huh?"

"Sunset?!" Clank suddenly yelled out, looking at the position of the sun. It was touching the tops of the rock formations as it began going into its setting phase. The robot felt himself panic. "I-I did not know that it was so late!"

"Is everything alright?" Ratchet asked Clank, genuinely concerned. He was surprised when the eyes of Clank's body turned black, and XJ-0461 shot out of the robot. He zipped over to the garage, Ratchet picking up the robot body and following. "H-Hey! Where are you going? What's wrong?"

XJ-0461 stopped at the table in the kitchen area to pick up his Chronoscepter and Home Orb, "I am sorry, Ratchet, but I did not intend to stay this long. I must get back home."

"O-Oh, okay," Ratchet said, placing the robot body back on the workbench. He turned around and looked at XJ-0461 "I'll see you again right?"

"I will try my best to come and see you again. Hopefully, it will be soon," the Zoni said with a nod. He then gave a small smile, "Thank you so much for today, Ratchet. I...I had a lot of fun."

"It's no problem," the Lombax said with a nod and a smile. "Feel free to come back anytime. I don't really say this to people, but my garage will always be open to ya. Again, I know that's a weird thing to say because we've kind of just met, but I like you. You're fun."

XJ-0461 gave a chuckle that Ratchet raised an eyebrow at as he thought that the laugh was very strange. The Zoni then gave a wave goodbye as he loaded the Home Orb with quantum energy. Ratchet gave a wave back and then went back to his workbench to check on the robot body. XJ-0461 watched him until he was pulled off of Veldin and was once again put on that wild teleportation roller coaster. Though he didn't mind it this time as positive feeling overcame XJ-0461. This was an amazing day. He never thought that he would have been able to actually feel. And to actually walk. It was such a short yet sweet moment. And being able to feel the warmth of the sun for the first time...it was so amazing. It was like he had been dreaming. But now he had to pretend like it had never happened as he was transported back to the Great Clock. A smile came to his face. He couldn't wait to tell Sigmund about what he had experienced. The robot was going to be thrilled.

The young Zoni felt himself become still and he opened his eyes. Back in the Solana planet room. The night hours had started to come upon the Great Clock and it was getting close to the end of Sigmund's shift, which was perfect timing. Though he had been gone for so long, he wondered if Sigmund had worried about him at all. XJ-0461 sighed and he muttered.

"I suppose I have some explaining to do..."

" _Yes, you do._ "

XJ-0461 felt his non-existent heart stop. Everything around him seemed to freeze in time as a harsh yet familiar voice came from behind him. He turned to his left and felt his entire being shake. His green eyes became wide as he saw who was waiting for him. Orvus stood there with angry turquoise eyes and Sigmund was behind him, looking worried as ever. XJ-0461 never felt so panicked in his life. He had been caught.

* * *

 **Welp...looks like XJ-0461 is in trouble. So, um...uh-oh.**

 **Boy, these two chapters have been eventful, huh? Orvus is worn out, a disruption in the Zoni Dimension, Sigmund is hiding something, XJ-0461 becomes friends with Ratchet, and Ratchet gives XJ-0461 a new body. Neat. But let's see if these events escalate in the next chapter!**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, signing off!**


	9. Letting Go

XJ-0461 felt as though time stopped in the Great Clock. He couldn't hear it ticking anymore. He couldn't move. His eyes were fixed in a surprised and shocked manner. If he had lungs, he would most likely begin to hyperventilate. But, as he did not have lungs, all he could do was simply float there and stare at his father, who was staring daggers at him. Seeing his father's angry expression gave XJ-0461 flashbacks to their argument the other day. This wasn't going to be good.

The young Zoni tried to get words of reason out, but he felt like he was being chocked. He could barely speak the words he was thinking. "Father...I-"

"I did not want to believe it when I saw it," Orvus said with a disapproving tone. He narrowed his eyes and shook his head, "To think that you would disobey me after I told you not to leave this place. Using the Clock's teleportation system to send yourself to another planet...what were you thinking?"

"F-Father, wait, I-I can explain!" XJ-0461 tried to scrape up any excuse that he could. His mind was becoming blurry as he felt himself panicking more and more.

"Oh, then by all means, explain it," the elder Zoni said a bit harshly, knowing full well that his son didn't have a good excuse.

Sure enough, the young Zoni was unable to think if a viable excuse. His mind was completely foggy and he couldn't keep his train of thought. But even if he could think properly, he knew that there was nothing that he could come up with that would cover his tracks. His doings were out in the open. There was no way out of this. He had been caught. The only thing he could think to do was lower his head and mutter, "I am sorry."

Sigmund couldn't keep his mouth shut anymore. He had planned on simply being a bystander and let the two Zoni work this out, but seeing XJ-0461 so ashamed of himself and mortified, he couldn't stand it. This was his idea after all. He had to take responsibility for it. He hovered forward a bit and looked at the elder Zoni, "Sir, if I may..."

"You aren't about to tell me that you had a hand in this, are you Sigmund?" Orvus asked, looking up at his colleague with a questionable look and unsettling tone.

XJ-0461's eyes went wide and he shot his head up. He quickly stopped Sigmund before the robot could say another word, "No, Sigmund had nothing to do with this!"

The two turned to the ashamed Zoni as he lowered his head again. It was time to start lying again. But this time, it was to protect his friend. He couldn't let Sigmund take the fall for this. The robot had done too much for him to suffer from a punishment that Orvus was surely going to give. But a quick glance at Sigmund showed that the robot was telling him not to do it. If he had the will to, XJ-0461 would have smiled. Sigmund had done everything for him. It was time to pay him back in a way.

XJ-0461 shook his head as he kept it lowered, "This was all my idea and done by my own hand. I tapped into the teleportation system through the Clock's computer under secrecy. I disabled the voice so it would not be announced. I then set up the Veldin teleportation pad and went there. Sigmund was not involved. I would not drag him into something so selfish."

Orvus gave his son another disapproving look while Sigmund looked almost horrified. If Orvus wasn't right in front of him, he would tell XJ-0461 to not take the fall, but his fear of the angry elder Zoni forced him to keep his mouth shut. There was so much he wanted to say right now, but he was too timid to do so. He cursed himself for being such a coward. It was costing him the innocence of XJ-0461.

As Sigmund quietly scolded himself, Orvus briefly closed his eyes and shook his head. He honestly couldn't believe what was happening. For fifteen years, XJ-0461 has been a genuinely good Zoni who followed the rules and never did anything that was wrong. His son had a good soul. So to see him teleporting in from Veldin, trying to do this behind the elder Zoni's back, Orvus felt like this was all just a bad dream. And he longed to wake up. But he knew that this wasn't a dream and that his son really was before him, bowing his head in shame. The elder Zoni sighed. It was time to teach his son a lesson that he didn't think the young Zoni would ever need.

"As prince of the Zoni race, you must take responsibility and follow the rules of the Clock and the ones laid down by me. Yet you have gone out of your way to break the rule of not leaving the Clock. Son..." Orvus had a blank look on his face as he said something that he never thought that he would have to say in his lifetime. "I am very disappointed in you."

XJ-0461 felt something break. He didn't know what it was, where it was, or what it would do, but he felt something break inside of him after hearing his father's words. A sudden rush hit him and he was drained of all emotion. The only he could feel was...nothing. He felt empty. It was the first time his father had ever told him that he was disappointed in him, and it hurt. It really, really hurt. The Zoni kept his head lowered and hid his hurt expression, the only thing changing was his arms, which were now being used to hug himself.

Orvus watched his son's silent reaction to his words. The elder Zoni seemingly tensed up and kept a straight and serious face as he narrowed his eyes a bit. The grip on his Chronoscepter became a bit tighter as he continued what he wanted to say, "If I catch you using the teleportation system again, your Chronoscepter will be revoked."

XJ-0461's grip on his own Chronoscepter grew tight and his eyes became wide. This Chronoscepter was his most prized possession, it meant everything to him. He still remembered the day his father gave it to him. He cherished it ever since. If it was taken away because of his own selfish actions...he didn't know what he would do. This situation simply kept getting worse and worse. But the only thing that XJ-0461 could bring himself to say was, "I...I-I am...sorry..."

Orvus sighed and turned away for a moment. It was time to finish this conversation. He didn't have the energy to deal with this. He glanced at his son, "Go to your room and dissipate in the Clock's core for the night. We will discuss this more in the morning." The elder Zoni then looked at Sigmund, who looked like a nervous wreck. Orvus nodded to XJ-0461, "Sigmund, I would like you to be stationed in the Orvus Chamber with him. I know that this may be unnecessary, but I want you to make sure that he doesn't go anywhere. Will you do this?"

Sigmund nodded and responded softly, "Yes, sir."

The elder Zoni nodded back and then turned back to XJ-0461, who hadn't moved one bit. "Goodnight. Go to the core and think about what you've done. I will see you in the morning."

XJ-0461 hesitated for a moment, his form flickering a bit as he felt paralyzed with guilt and shame, but when he composed himself, he wasted no time zipping out of the room. He didn't even wait for Sigmund. Meanwhile, Orvus watched as his son flew out of the room. The elder Zoni's face remaining blank until the doors shut. The moment that they closed, Orvus's structure shook a bit. The Chronoscepter in his hand fell to the ground and the resulting clanging sounds echoed through the room. Sigmund's eyes went wide as he scrambled to pick up the Chronoscepter and rushed to Orvus's side.

"Sir! Are you okay? You dropped your-"

"I didn't want to say it."

"S-Sir...?" Sigmund hovered a bit closer and leaned inwards. He was shocked to see how distraught Orvus looked. His eyes looked like they had witnessed something awful. Sigmund was genuinely concerned about his current state. "Are you...?"

"I...I didn't want to say it. I really didn't," Orvus said, his voice shaking a bit along with his body. "I just...I wanted him to know how bad this was. I told him not to do it, but he proceeded to do it anyway. He even went as far as to access the teleportation system. I didn't even tell him about it. He must have found it on his own."

"Yeah..." Sigmund said quietly, still feeling guilty over XJ-0461 taking all of the blame when it was he who taught the young Zoni about the teleportation system. "What are you going to do?"

"I do not know, that is why I am waiting until morning. I never thought that I would have to bestow a punishment on my son. He's been such a good child," the elder Zoni said, rubbing the side of his head. He gave a sad sigh, "I know that he wants to leave the Clock. And I know that it's not fair for me to keep him chained down in his facility. But it's for his own safety."

"You never told him about what happened on Quantos, did you?" The robot asked.

"No, I never did. Perhaps I should tell him so he can understand my concerns, despite the fact that I do not think he is ready to hear such a tale." Orvus nodded to himself. He rubbed both of his large eyes. Today had been too much for him, he was exhausted. The universe was really dragging him through a rough patch. He took his Chronoscepter back from Sigmund and checked it for damage as he spoke. "I will tell him about it in the morning. But before I go get him, I will access the teleportation system and disable it indefinitely."

"What?" Sigmund looked at Orvus with surprise. "But don't we need it for emergencies? Isn't it a bit extreme to shut it down?"

"I cannot have my son leaving the Clock again in such a matter. Even if he swears to never do it again, I cannot risk it. If there is ever an emergency, I shall send a group of Zoni to take care of it." His eyes narrowed in a sad position, "I cannot lose my son. Not again..."

"Yeah, I get what you mean."

Orvus turned to Sigmund, his face still looking worn out, "Sigmund, please make your way to the Orvus Chamber. XJ-0461 is probably there by now. I would like some time alone to think."

"Yes, sir."

Heeding his boss's orders, Sigmund hovered to the exit of the Solana Planet room, a dark cloud looming over both him and Orvus. He gave the elder Zoni one last look. Orvus looked like he had aged one thousand years in a single moment. He didn't quite look like the happy and pun-loving Zoni that he was, but instead an empty depressed shell of what he used to be. And honestly, Sigmund couldn't blame him. He wasn't feeling too good himself after this situation. But Orvus definitely had it worst for him. After all, XJ-0461 wasn't the only one hurt by what he said.

This was a disaster Sigmund thought as he sluggishly hovered in the direction of the Orvus Chamber. He never meant for XJ-0461 to be caught. The look on the young Zoni's face when he realized that his father had discovered that he teleported to Veldin made Sigmund's gears grind roughly. It was so unsettling. And to think, after all of this, XJ-0461 was the one who took the blame for everything. He had Sigmund's back, but Sigmund didn't want him to have it. This was all his idea, he had no right to let XJ-0461 do that to himself. But, like the coward he was, he just stood by and let it happen. Fear of the tense situation and Orvus's wrath forced him to keep his mouth shut. And even when XJ-0461 left the room, he still couldn't bring himself to say anything.

Sigmund placed a hand on his head and slowly slid it down. This all started because he didn't think he would be a good friend if he didn't fulfill XJ-0461's wish of traveling outside the Clock. Now he looked like the worst friend in the universe. And he was too much of a coward to make it right.

The robot wondered how XJ-0461 would react when he tells him that Orvus plans to shut down the teleportation system. He would be unable to travel outside the Clock again and he would never be able to see that 'Ratchet' fellow ever again. Thinking of the young Zoni's devastated face brought discomfort to Sigmund. This night would just keep getting worse and worse. And it was all his fault.

The doors to the Orvus Chamber opened as soon as Sigmund came in front of them. He hovered inside, taking a moment to take a breath that he didn't need to take. The Chamber was eerily silent. XJ-0461 must have already gone inside the core and dissipated. But Sigmund knew that they had to talk. So, putting his hands together and swallowing his nerves, he went underneath the core and looked up.

"XJ-0461? Hey...you wanna talk? I know that this might not be a good time, but...if you want to."

The core showed no sign of change for a moment. Sigmund thought that the Zoni was in no mood to talk to him after what happened, and he was prepared to turn around and simply stay by the entrance for the night, but the slight green glow that emerged from the core made him stop. XJ-0461 came down in a drop of green light and took his form as he floated downwards. Sigmund waited patiently for him, guilt settling in as he saw the look on the young Zoni's face. He could tell that XJ-0461 felt awful. There was simply a blank look of sorrow in his eyes. He looked like that all of the happiness in his life had been taken away.

"Yes, Sigmund?" XJ-0461 asked in a flat voice.

"Hey, are you...doing alright?" Sigmund simply asked.

"Not exactly," the young Zoni said, folding his arms and looking away.

"I'm sorry about everything that just happened. Your father looked about as hurt as you did. He didn't want to say those things, he really didn't."

"...How did he find out?" XJ-0461 asked, still not looking. "He thought that I was off studying. How did he find out that I had teleported to Veldin?"

"He did think that you were studying," Sigmund explained, recalling the memories. "But he apparently needed to tell you something. I don't know what he did before, but he came rushing to find me, looking panicked. He told me that he couldn't find you and wanted to know if I had seen you. I told him that I hadn't, and we went searching for you, even though I knew where you really were."

"But how did he know that I teleported to Veldin?"

"When we searched the whole Clock for you, he tried to think of where you could be. He then remembered the argument you guys had about you wanting to leave the Clock. Even though he didn't believe that you would do it, he accessed the Clock's archives and checked the teleportation system's history. When he saw that there had been two unauthorized trips to Veldin, he knew exactly where you were. By the time we got to the Solana Planet Room, you were teleporting back."

"Oh..." the young Zoni muttered, looking ashamed.

"You...you..." Sigmund felt himself become tense. He wasn't good in situations like this. But he managed to push out what he wanted to say. "You should have let me take the blame! It was my idea, I was the one who sent you to Veldin, I'm the one who kept it secret from Orvus! Why would you do that?"

"You have done too much for me, Sigmund. If I had let you take the fall for this, I would never be able to forgive myself. You did this all for me. And so I wanted to do this for you," XJ-0461 said, finally looking at Sigmund. His expression had gone soft as he attempted to soothe his friend.

"But...Orvus..."

"My father has every right to be upset at me. But I do not need to drag you into my punishment."

Sigmund looked down at the ground. XJ-0461 truly was better than him. He had known the young Zoni since he was a baby, but now he was wiser and much more mature than him, and he wasn't a coward who would back down from taking the blame. This conversation made Sigmund feel worse and worse. If only there was some way to pay XJ-0461 back. He would do anything. This was all because XJ-0461 said that he had given too much, but Sigmund felt like he hadn't given nearly enough. There had to be something he could do. He wanted to make this right.

"But, getting to Veldin will be much more difficult now."

Sigmund's eyes went wide as he realized that he hadn't told XJ-0461 about what Orvus planned to do with the teleportation system. XJ-0461 wouldn't be able to go to Veldin anymore. This was something that he did not look forward to telling the young Zoni. "Um...XJ-0461? I really don't know how to tell you this, but...Orvus, he...he plans to...he's going to shut down the teleportation system in the morning."

The robot tried to look away as the young Zoni's eyes went wide and he gasped a bit. "He is going to shut down the teleportation system? But if he does that, Ratchet...I might not be able to see him again!"

"I know. That's why I didn't want to tell you because I know that you like that creature. I'm sorry, XJ-0461," Sigmund said sincerely. He felt so bad for the Zoni. XJ-0461's new world was practically crumbling in front of him.

"There must be a way! Ratchet...he is my friend. He told me that he could trust me. He has already done so much for me, despite only knowing me for a short time. If I cannot see him again..."

"I'm so sorry," Sigmund apologized again, feeling a sorrowful pain in his gut.

XJ-0461 closed his eyes and lowered his head. This couldn't be happening. Everything was just fine an hour ago. He was happy with Ratchet, he was walking around in a robot body and was finally able to feel things, like the warmth of the sun. Now everything was being taken away. The chances of seeing Ratchet again when the teleportation system was shut down was close to zero. And that did not sit well with XJ-0461. The Zoni had only known Ratchet for a day, but he had already shared so much with the Lombax, they were friends. And Ratchet was so happy to finally have someone to talk to and simply spend time with him. If that was taken away...he would be devastated.

Why...why did Orvus have to do this? XJ-0461 knew that his father was only doing this because he loved him and wanted to protect him, but XJ-0461 had never felt so trapped in his life. He felt like that he had no control over his life anymore. The Zoni felt his hand tighten into a fist. This wasn't right. This couldn't be his life until the end of his days. He was willing to accept that he would have to take care of the Clock after his father was gone, but not like this. He shouldn't have to spend his entire life talking with the same two people and doing the same tasks over and over again each day. He had to get away. This wasn't right. It didn't feel right. If there was somewhere he could go...anywhere...

 _"There's a transit that comes here every few hours that transports people to Planet Kerwan, and I can't bring myself to get on it. It's stupid, I know. I'm sure I'll bring myself to do it someday."_

XJ-0461's eyes burst open as Ratchet's voice rang through his head. A transit to Planet Kerwan...and Ratchet too nervous to go by himself...an idea began forming in his head. It was a crazy one and something he thought he would never do in a million years, but he was at his breaking point. It was time to take back control of his life, no matter how he had to it.

The Zoni looked up with a suddenly determined face what startled Sigmund a bit. He looked at his friend, "Sigmund, I cannot live like this anymore."

"H-Huh?"

"I love my father and I know that he simply wants to protect me, but I cannot stay trapped in this place any longer. I want to go see the universe. And I want to be by Ratchet's side. He said that there is a transit on his planet used for interplanetary travel. If I go to Veldin before my father shuts down the teleportation system, I can explore other planets with him. I can be free with my life for the first time."

"You mean, you want to...t-to run away?!" Sigmund said, not believing what he was hearing.

"That is one way to put it," XJ-0461 said with a guilty nod. He then had a moment of realization and he frowned, "But, my father...he will be devastated..."

"Of course he'll be. You mean everything to him."

"I know, but...I do not know what to do. It is not like I am abandoning my duties at the Great Clock forever. Of course, I will come back. I could not just leave you and my father forever, you mean too much to me. But...if I stay...I-"

"You'll be trapped," Sigmund finished with a solemn voice.

XJ-0461 looked up in surprise as Sigmund finished his sentence. He frowned again and spoke softly as he got out something he had been wondering for a bit, "Sigmund...why do you sympathize with me so much? Why do you know what it is like to feel trapped?"

Sigmund gave a small sad smile as recalled all of the memories from way back when. He knew that he would have to tell his friend this at some point. And this seemed like a better time than any. He had a lot of courage to scrape up if he was going to tell this story. He looked at the young Zoni, "Have I ever told you about Planet Viceron?"

"All you have told me is that it is where my father hired you to work here," XJ-0461 said.

The robot took a mental breath. He then turned to the side and pointed to something, "You see this thing sticking out of my back?"

The young Zoni took a look. It looked like a key that was put into a wind-up toy. He had never thought much about it, let alone why it was even attached to Sigmund's back. "I have always brushed it off whenever I saw it. It simply blended into you over the years."

The robot turned his back and faced XJ-0461 again. He put his hands back together as he simply let the story roll out in front of him. "Thousands of years ago, a new era of robots was coming along, and Planet Viceron was a planet who gained access to some of the new technology. A large company on the planet began developing janitor bots to help keep their corporate headquarters clean. Unfortunately, the technology was still a bit primitive, so wind-up knobs were installed in the back of the robots two help their power source run. Among these new robots was me. Janitorial Bot Sigma-0426A, that's who I am."

XJ-0461's eyes went wide with this new information, "You mean...your name is not Sigmund?"

Sigmund shook his head and continued, "Us janitor bots did what we were told. We mopped, repaired damaged technology, washed windows, everything you would expect a janitor to do. But, whenever I was working, I noticed something different about my fellow janitor bots. They were never interested in talking or doing anything besides their job. They had no personality to them. But I was interested in everyone. Whenever someone walked by, I tried to strike up a conversation with them, but they would simply look at me with surprise, and then disgust and walk away. I didn't know what was wrong with me, but apparently I had caught the attention of the people who designed us janitor bots. I was called in to see our boss, a nasty Terrachnoid who had been responsible for designing us. I was observed by them and my programmed was checked. They then told me that I was...defective."

"Defective?" XJ-0461 asked, having trouble taking in all this information. "But I did not hear you doing anything out of the ordinary."

"I didn't think I was doing anything wrong either. But then I remembered my fellow janitor bots. They had no personality and were completely dedicated to their jobs. Meanwhile, I was interested in other things and could think for myself. My way of thinking, my personality...that was my defect. I had developed a conscience. I was supposed to be a mindless cleaning drone, but I wasn't, and they didn't like that about me. So, in order to deal with me, they planned to have me taken apart and destroyed, salvaging my parts and my strange defective AI..." Sigmund took a moment to compose himself as his voice became unsteady. XJ-0461 waited patiently for his friend, almost feeling himself shake after hearing all of this. The robot managed to bring himself back together and finished the story. "I had nowhere to go and nowhere to run. I was trapped. I had always been trapped on Viceron and I was intelligent enough to know that. And I had to keep being trapped as they planned my death. I stayed at my station and tried to think of a way out, but no matter what I could do, they would just find me, so I just...gave up. I didn't want to die, but I didn't have a choice, so I tried to think as much as possible before I was taken apart."

"You were trapped...and you were going to be killed..." XJ-0461 said with a strained voice. He frowned, "I am so sorry Sigmund."

Sigmund waved off the sympathetic apology, "Oh no, don't be, it has a happy ending. The night before my death date, I was approached by a mystical being who said that he had been watching me."

"My father?"

"Yup! He had been interested in this new era of robots and he had been looking over the new models that had been appearing across the galaxy. But he told me that I was the one who caught his eye. A defective janitorial bot who was capable of thinking for themselves. He told me that they had no right to take my 'special gift' away, and he wanted to help me. So he offered me a job at his facility, and that I had the choice to say yes or no because it was my life and I had a say in what I wanted to do with it. So I took him up on his offer, and that's how I ended up here as a Junior Caretaker. And Orvus decided to free me from my original name and just started calling me 'Sigmund', and I just started picking up on it. So there, now you know."

XJ-0461 had to take a few moments to absorb all of this new unknown information about Sigmund. All of this time, he thought that ORvus had simply picked up a janitor bot from Planet Viceron and nothing more, but he was completely wrong. The creators of the janitorial bots wanted to kill Sigmund because he was defective. And Sigmund wasn't even his real name, it was Sigma-0426A. But what really stood out to XJ-0461 was the fact that Sigmund had been trapped just like him. Unable to escape, no hope...it was painfully close to his situation. He never thought that his kind friend would have ever gone through such tragic events. Though he had respected Sigmund immensely before, he respected the robot even more after this. This was a story that he would never forget.

The young Zoni had to gather himself before speaking again, "I never thought that you would have such a sad past, Sigmund. I am sorry for not understanding before. I had no idea-"

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Sigmund said, shaking his head. "But to bring the conversation to where it was before, I understand how you're feeling. I know that you feel trapped and want to leave."

"I know that it is selfish of me to want this, but please understand that I do not want to live like this anymore. I want to explore planets and discover my potential outside of the Clock. I have my whole life ahead of me, and I just...want to spend some of it doing what I want with it. This is a horrible and dangerous thing to consider, I know, but...that feeling in my gut I had before has returned. It is telling me that it is not right for me to be stuck here. But I do not know if I should listen to it or not..."

Sigmund stared at XJ-0461, torn on which side of the argument to take. On one side, he could completely understand what XJ-0461 was thinking and feeling, but on the other, letting the Zoni run away was an insane thing to do and Orvus wouldn't know what to do. And not to mention the dangers that were out there. When weighing the pros and cons, the side of not letting XJ-0461 run away was definitely winning. Sigmund believed that that was the side he was going to choose when something happened. As he stared at XJ-0461, the Zoni's form started to shift a little, and what appeared to be a shadow appeared over him. Sigmund looked a little closer before his eyes went wide. As he stared at the conflicted and trapped Zoni, he could see a shadow of his past self. They shared the same troubled expression. Past Sigmund thinking about how he was going to die and XJ-0461 thinking about how he was going to spend the rest of his life trapped in his facility. Sigmund rubbed his eyes and looked again. The shadow was gone and only XJ-0461 remained. The robot lowered his shoulders and a ping in his chest caught his attention. Then he frowned. He knew which side he had taken.

"XJ-0461." Sigmund said, catching the Zoni's attention. "This is a crazy idea and the consequences are going to be drastic. And honestly, I really don't want to do it because of how insane it is. But...I can access the teleportation system again on my computer. I can set the Veldin teleportation pad to activated in ten minutes. That should give you enough time to get there."

"Sigmund..." XJ-0461 said with more sadness than surprise.

"I know, this doesn't seem like something I would do, and honestly I'm surprised that I'm doing it. And I'm _definitely_ going to regret it later. But I can't sit here and watch you suffer. You're right, Orvus can't keep you locked up in here. You need to go out and explore the universe for yourself. And I trust your Ratchet friend to protect you if anything happens. And, even though I don't want you to go..." Sigmund gave a sad smile. "I'll trust that you have fun. Orvus saved me from being trapped, now I want to help you."

If he had the ability, XJ-0461 would have broken down in tears. He didn't expect such a thing from Sigmund. He expected the robot to freak out and warn him not to run away, but he was doing the opposite. Sigmund wanted him to be free and live his own life. The Zoni put a hand on his chest. He couldn't ask for a better friend. But he still had one concern, "But...my father."

"That's going to be the rough part," Sigmund said, frowning. "He'll be heartbroken over this."

"I know he will...but this will hurt for me as well. So I know that he will not be the only one in pain. And I can push forward knowing that I plan on seeing him again."

"Speaking of which." Sigmund opened up his chest compartment and pulled out the Home Orb. XJ-0461 had left if back in the Solana Planet room and Sigmund had grabbed it on his way out. He handed it to the Zoni, who took it in his hands. "You'll be needing this when you're ready to come home or if you need to get out of a dangerous situation."

"Thank you, Sigmund." XJ-0461 felt his whole plan coming together, but it began to unravel as he thought of something. "Wait, you are supposed to be guarding me and making sure that I do not leave. How will you explain to my father that I got out?"

"Well, I was thinking about that too, and..." the robot rubbed the back of his head. "I was thinking that I could take the fall this time. Say that I let you go free or that you easily slipped passed me."

"Wh-What? No! Who knows what my father will do if you tell him that! No, you are not taking the blame, Sigmund."

"But you took the blame for the last situation, let me make it up to you!" Sigmund begged.

"You already have made it up to me! You are willing to let me live my own life and allowing me to leave. You are not going to get in trouble for this."

"I won't mind, I swear! I don't care if I get fire or something like that, as long as you're happy, I'll-"

"No Sigmund!"

"But-"

"As Senior Caretaker and Prince of the Zoni race, I command you to let me take the blame for this!" XJ-0461 shouted, his hands tight around the Home Orb. He took a few unneeded deep breathes before muttering, "Please..."

Sigmund's eyes were wide with disbelief after XJ-0461's outburst. He never pulled rank. XJ-0461 always saw Sigmund as equal and treated him like they were on the same level, despite the Zoni being more powerful and higher ranking. So for XJ-0461 to actually command Sigmund to do something and remind him that he was above him meant that the Zoni was dead serious. Though Sigmund loathed XJ-0461 taking the fall again, he knew that he had no choice. He couldn't ignore a serious order from the prince.

As much as he didn't want to do it, he nodded, "Alright, alright...but what am I supposed to tell Orvus?"

"That is what I am having trouble figuring out. He knows that you are not unobservant, so he would not believe it if you told him that I simply slipped past you."

"Hmm...I have an idea." Sigmund grabbed his attached screen and began typing on it. When he was done, he turned it around and showed it to XJ-0461. "This is a code that will harmlessly shut me down for a few hours. Even though I really don't want to do this. I can tell Orvus that you sent it to me through the Clock's console over there."

"I suppose that will work," XJ-0461 said with a nod. He frowned and lowered his head as he thought about what was going to come next, "Well, I suppose I should leave rather quickly. It will give me more time to cover my tracks."

"W-Wait," the robot said, suddenly thinking of something. "What about your quantum energy? There is none out there. How are you going to re-energize?"

"Ratchet has provided me with something that I can contain my energy in. I will be fine," the Zoni said to reassure his friend. The robot body Ratchet created for him will act as a vessel. It recharged with power instead of quantum energy, so he could keep himself alive as long as he stayed in the body.

"Oh, okay..." Sigmund said quietly, looking down at the ground. He knew that he was willing to let XJ-0461 leave, but it still saddened him greatly. XJ-0461 was his best friend, after all. Seeing him leave made his mechanical heartache. He sighed, "So, this is goodbye, huh?"

"I am afraid it is," XJ-0461 said with a nod. He narrowed his eyes in a sad position and held the Home Orb close, "I do plan on returning one day. I will not abandon my role at the Clock. I simply just need a break from it. But...I will miss you and my father. Greatly."

"I'm gonna miss you, too." Sigmund looked at his hands and lowered them. "I'd hug you, but uh...I can't actually do that."

XJ-0461 stood there for a moment, a blank look on his face. It then shifted into a sad smile as he floated forward. He carefully set the Home Orb on the floor and went up to Sigmund. The Zoni looked at his ethereal hands. Then, pretending like he was capable of actually doing it, he latched onto Sigmund, trying his best to simulate a hug. Although he was happy that his friend was trying his best to hug him, Sigmund frowned. He couldn't feel anything. It was like XJ-0461 wasn't even there. However, the pain of knowing that his best friend was leaving took over those thoughts, and he tried his best to simulate a hug back. The robot put his hands on the back of the Zoni. But he didn't quite know when to stop, so his hands slightly phased through XJ-0461. XJ-0461 didn't mind, though, as he didn't want to ruin this.

When they separated, Sigmund grabbed his computer screen and tapped on it, accessing the teleportation system one last time. He set the Veldin teleportation pad to activate in ten minutes. He also typed in the code that would shut him down for the next few hours. But he didn't upload it, as he had to say one last goodbye to his friend. XJ-0461 looked as sad as he did. It was painful for both of them.

The young Zoni nodded as he picked up the Home Orb and floated slowly towards the exit. "Farewell, Sigmund. I will return in the future. I promise."

"Bye, XJ-0461. I'll look forward to you returning every minute of every day," Sigmund said.

XJ-0461 gave his friend one last smile. He then raised his hand and gave a small wave, Sigmund returning it with a wave of his own. The young Zoni then turned around and exited the chamber. Sigmund lowered his hand and his smile faded. He grabbed his computer screen and uploaded the code. The moment it did, he could feel his consciousness leaving and his vision started to become dark. The robot lowered himself to the ground as he felt himself powering down. His dimming yellow eyes tried to find XJ-0461, but he was gone and no longer visible.

'Good luck, XJ-0461. I'm glad that you didn't turn out...to be a coward...like I did...' Sigmund got out his final thought before powering down. Everything was in XJ-0461'a hands now.

Meanwhile, XJ-0461 raced to the Solana Planet room, teleporting whenever he could so he wouldn't be spotted by other Zoni. But it was now the night hours in the Great Clock, so most of the Zoni were resting and gathering energy for the next day. The Zoni could feel his nonexistent heart racing with every inch closer to the planet room that he got. He couldn't believe that he was doing this. He couldn't believe that Sigmund let him do this. It was like a wild dream and he expected to wake up any second. But he didn't want to wake up. This was too exciting. Though he would miss his father and Sigmund, he knew that a life of adventure was out there waiting for him. He wondered what Ratchet would think when he offered to go with him to Planet Kerwan. XJ-0461 hoped in the very core of his being that Ratchet would agree. That would be one step in his new adventure.

The young Zoni reached the Solana Planet room. He reached forward to activate the doors, but he hesitated for a moment. XJ-0461 turned around and looked out over the edge of the platform. The Great Clock was still shimmering with gold metals and light blue glass. Quantum energy flowed throughout it like energy ribbons. And the stars kept littering the darkness of space. XJ-0461 frowned. He never realized how much he was going to miss this view. Despite living in the same place for fifteen years and seeing the same view every day, XJ-0461 was still always amazed whenever he took a moment to take in the Clock's beauty. It truly was a work of art. And even though he was leaving it, he looked forward to ruling it one day.

After taking in the Clock's beauty one last time, XJ-0461 entered the Solana Planet room and quickly located Veldin. He stood on the pedestal, Home Orb in hand, and waited for the teleportation pad to activate. It was at that moment that XJ-0461 realized that he didn't have his Chronoscepter. He frowned again. He supposed that he would have to go without it. Besides, his father said that if he used the teleportation system one more time, his Chronoscepter would be revoked. XJ-0461 guessed that not taking it with him was his own kind of punishment, as it felt like it had been revoked.

XJ-0461 took a deep breath and determination shimmered in his large green eyes. This was it. It was time to leave the Clock and begin life anew. And even though he would miss everything at the Clock greatly, he knew that the journey ahead of him would bring him great new memories and friends. XJ-0461 was leaving one life behind and beginning another, and he couldn't wait to see where the universe was going to take him. And he kept a hold on this excitement as the teleporter activated and took him away.

XJ-0461's time was at a temporary end. Now it was time for Clank to enter the spotlight.

* * *

 **Okay, so this chapter was, like, over twice as long as I meant for it to be, but I guess it makes a good end for Act I. So there you go...there's the end of Act I.**

 **So Sigmund's backstory is actually part of a headcanon I made for him awhile back and I thought it would tie in really nicely with this story. I'm sure that there are some questionable aspects of it, but just bear with me on it. No headcanon is perfect.**

 **Ooh, so much stuff to explore now that XJ-0461 has run away. Let's see what happens next chapter, where we'll kick off XJ-0461's new life with Ratchet.**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up a complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, signing off!**


	10. A New Life Ahead

**ACT II: "Rebirth"**

XJ-0461 was quick to jump off the tiresome teleportation rollercoaster and practically burst into the Veldin atmosphere. He felt a moment of weakness as he pushed himself forward as if his body was telling him to take a moment and think about what he was doing. For as long as he could remember, he enjoyed living inside the Great Clock. He enjoyed the company of his father and Sigmund. Never in his lifetime would he be able to predict a situation such as the one he was in now. Running away from his home to be with a Lombax that he barely knew seemed bizarre and absolutely insane, and it was, but XJ-0461 felt like it was what he needed to do. He couldn't live his life chained up in the Great Clock. That wasn't how he wanted his life to be. And even though it meant leaving behind the people he loved, he was ready to take his life into his own hands.

The young Zoni retraced his steps to Ratchet's garage and zipped through the cool air. The sun had set some time ago and the sky was now blanketed by the blackish-blue night sky. The millions of shining stars were reflected in XJ-0461's eyes, and he located the multicolor planets in the distant sky. The sight above cast a bluish glow on Veldin's surface and many Heliogrubs skitted across the area, lighting up the surface as well with their green glow. XJ-0461 was rather impressed. He had never seen nighttime with his own eyes before, and he was rather glad that he was able to see a sight such as this. It was almost as beautiful as the Great Clock.

Among the rocks and Heliogrubs below was the familiar stray garage that XJ-0461 had spent the day at. Even though the surface was lit up and the Heliogrubs brought their own light everywhere they went, the small garage was hidden a bit in the shadows, a bright glare coming off of it in the areas that were hit with light. XJ-0461 narrowed his eyes a bit before fluctuating his energy and zipping downward, leaving a misty green trail behind him. There were no lights on in the garage, so Ratchet might have already been asleep. But XJ-0461 didn't have a lot of time to waste, so he would have to make a rude entry. If his father found out he was missing and discovered him on Veldin before he and Ratchet got off the planet, it would be over. Even though he had freed himself from his regular life, time was still everything.

XJ-0461 slowed himself before coming to a soft hover. He floated downwards in front of Ratchet's garage. His hands came together as he narrowed his eyes again, then he floated forward. Unable to knock the Zoni simply phased through the front of the garage and entered the inside. It was fairly dark on the inside. The only light source that XJ-0461 had was some light that came in through the small windows and the green light that he himself produced. However, despite the lack of light, he was able to see rather well. His large green eyes searched the interior of the garage, and he quickly located the person he was looking for. Ratchet was asleep in the middle of the room, relaxed in a large brown recliner, sleeping a bit loudly. XJ-0461 was about to announce his presence, but he quickly closed his mouth as he thought of something.

After refreshing his memory of where it was, XJ-0461 located the workbench over on the other side of the garage. He made his way over to it and illuminated the top of the workbench with his own light. He smiled as he saw the outline of his newly gifted robot body underneath a blanket. If he was going to be outside of the Great Clock, then he needed to preserve as much energy as possible, so the sooner he got into his robot body, the better. But, before he entered it, he looked a quick look at his glowing green hands. It felt strange to him that these would no longer be the hands that he would control. It was like he was going to become a completely different person. The young Zoni quickly shook off the thought. He was going to be different on the outside, but not on the inside. XJ-0461 was XJ-0461, and no new body was going to change that.

With that in mind, XJ-0461 wasted no more time and lowered himself into the body underneath the blanket. He became shrouded in that darkness he had experienced earlier, but he was no longer afraid of it, as he knew that it was all part of the transition from Zoni to robot. From XJ-0461 to Clank.

 **Reboot Pending.**

 **Audio: 100%**

 **Voice Modulator: 100%**

 **CPU: 100%**

 **Haptic Sensors: 100%**

 **Motor Functions: 100%**

 **Reboot Initiated.**

Clank woke up with a start as his systems came online. He opened his large green eyes, which shined very bright with a familiar green light, and relaxed a bit as he knew that the transition was a success once again. The blanket on top of his body was still covering him. Clank took a moment to smile a bit. The blanket was warm, just like the sunlight. He had nearly forgotten that he was able to feel in this body. He was so used to not being able to feel that the concept of it slipped away as soon as he had to leave earlier. But it looked like that feeling, or rather the haptic sensors that allowed him to feel, were here to stay with him for awhile. And he was elated knowing that.

The Zoni-turned-robot took a moment to flex his fingers and bend his knees, still getting a bit used to having actual physical limbs. Then he pushed himself up and let the blanket covering him slide down onto his lap. He blinked his large green eyes a few times, feeling a bit sluggish as his CPU was still booting up. The robot that the body originally belonged to was not exactly meant to be alive, so its body wasn't in the greatest condition (despite everything being at 100%). Clank shook his head in hopes of shaking off the sluggishness as well, then he turned to Ratchet, who was still sound asleep. The robot sighed internally. He felt like he was going to regret waking up and peaceful Lombax, but he was short on time, so he had no choice.

Swinging his legs over the side of the workbench and getting down with a wobbly 'clank', Clank remembered his lesson from earlier and carefully totted over to the brown recliner holding the sleeping Lombax. Ratchet was still snoring loudly, still unaware of the robot's presence. It was only when Clank reached up and shook his shoulder and said his name that he jumped and woke up. Ratchet felt like he was about to have a heart attack, as no one should have been in the garage to wake him up. In a rush of panic and surprise, Ratchet grabbed the Omniwrench next to the chair and raised it, ready to strike the intruder that woke him up. Clank jumped and raised his hands in a defensive position.

"Ratchet, it is alright! It is me, XJ-0461! Or...I suppose it is Clank, now. But I mean you no harm!"

Ratchet quickly recognized the panicked voice and his eyes went a bit wide. He lowered himself and the Omniwrench before rubbing his eyes with his hands. Once his vision was clear, he realized that it indeed was Clank. The shining green eyes being what he recognized first. He let out a small yawn before settling back down, "What are you doing here? You gave me a heart attack!"

"My deepest apologies, but I had to approach you this way," Clank said, bowing his head with guilt.

"Why? Couldn't you have waited until morning?" Ratchet asked, lazily rubbing his head.

"No, actually, I could not," the robot said, catching the Lombax's attention. Clank looked up at his friend with sorrowful eyes, "You see, Ratchet, if I had not come at this moment, then I might not have been able to see you ever again."

"What do you mean?"

"My father discovered that I have been teleporting to this planet behind his back. As punishment, and to make sure that I would not do it again, he planned on disabling our teleportation system. When I found out, I knew that it meant never seeing you again. So, I..." Clank trailed off a bit as he recalled the events at the Great Clock, specifically his conversation with Sigmund. He felt himself tense up a bit as he got out the rest of the sentence, "I ran away."

"You ran away from home?" Ratchet asked, genuinely surprised by how a creature so polite and well behaved as Clank would do such a thing. He sat up in his chair, wanting to hear more. "Why would you do that? You barely know me. Why would you run away just so you could spend time with me? That's insane!"

"I know, and that is what I told myself when I considered the idea, but you are my only friend outside from where I live, Ratchet. It just would not feel right if I were to never see you again. You made me this body so I could be a physical being and have the ability to feel, despite you barely knowing me. Also, I could not stay in that place forever. I did not want to be trapped there for the rest of my life and have no control. For the first time in my life, I am free. And I wanted to be free with _you_ , Ratchet."

"I...kind of get it, I guess."

Ratchet's day was just full of surprises today. He was visited by a mystical being who actually wanted to spend time with him, made a body for the said mystical creature, and now that same creature was telling him that he ran away from home just to spend time with him. Despite all of the craziness that Ratchet was seeing in this, and pushing all of his disbelief aside, the Lombax couldn't help but feel rather pleased. He didn't think that he mattered this much to anyone in his life. Clank was here because he wanted to be his friend, and that he would miss him if their way of seeing each other was cut off. Though there was a problem when it came to Clank being 'free' with him, and it was going to be tough breaking it to the little guy, especially when he seemed to happy.

Ratchet had a frown on his face as he scratched the back of one of his eyes. He eyed Clank before breaking the news to him, "Look, Clank, I know that you're happy to be free from your home at all, but...Veldin was a pretty bad choice, even if I do live here. This backwater planet isn't exactly a great place to live. So, technically, you are still trapped."

"I thought about that, too," Clank admitted, catching Ratchet off guard. The Lombax gave him a quizzical look as he continued, "You told me that you want to leave this planet. You told me about the transit that comes here and goes to Planet Kerwan."

"Yeah. So?" Ratchet asked, getting a slight idea of where Clank was going with this.

The robot gave a sincere smile, "You said that you did not have the nerves to go by yourself. Would it be acceptable if we went to Planet Kerwan together?"

Even though he basically knew what the robot's idea was going to be, he was still put off by it. His eyes went a bit wide as he looked down at Clank, "Wait...really? You want to go with me?"

Clank happily nodded his head. Ratchet took a moment to sit back and ponder this sudden twist of events. For many years he had dreamed of leaving Veldin to go out and see other planets. There was nothing he wanted more than to abandon this dump and live it up out in the cosmos. But he never thought that the opportunity to do so would come this very night in the form of a possessed defective robot who had run away from home. The universe worked in mysterious ways.

The Lombax looked around his garage. His stuff laid strewn about the place, on the floor and on the shelves, gathering dust. This place was the one thing he could consider as 'home' and to leave it so soon felt almost uncomfortable to him. And if he were to go to Kerwan, then many of this stuff would have to be left behind, as he did not have a device that could carry everything he owned in one convenient container (though he wouldn't mind inventing something like that one day). Despite always thinking about leaving, Ratchet never realized how hard it would be to let go of all of this stuff. It was then that the Lombax glanced at Clank, who tilted his head at his gaze. Clank said that he had run away from home, meaning that had to let go of everything he had and everyone he loved, yet he was still standing strong. The Lombax sighed to himself and gave a sad smile, hoping that one day he could be as strong as the little guy. Besides, it wasn't like he was leaving forever. He could always come back via the transit. Speaking of the transit.

Ratchet remembered how late it was in the night. He quickly checked the closest clock, squinting his eyes to make out where the hands were pointing. He was able to see that it was 10:17 PM, meaning that the last transit of the night would be coming in thirteen minutes. Ratchet looked at Clank again, "How much of a rush are you in to go to Kerwan?"

"We must be gone by morning," Clank explained. "If we are not, my father will have found me and I will be taken back home, and I will not be able to come back."

"Then we have to be fast."

With solid determination in him, Ratchet jumped out his recliner (nearly falling onto his face when he landed). He rushed over to a large containment box on the other side of the garage and pulled out a medium-sized suitcase. He had always kept this around in case something like this happened. It was never too early to prepare. Now it was time to pack what he needed.

Clank attempted to follow Ratchet around the garage, but the Lombax was simply too fast for him, dashing back and forth across the garage as he grabbed various things like tools, clothing, and toiletries. So the robot simply climbed up onto the recliner and sat on it, watching his friend pack as he waited. Clank had to admit, he was very excited about what was coming next. He felt so relieved when Ratchet agreed to go to Kerwan with him. If he hadn't, this whole plan would have been ruined, and he would have been brought back to the Clock. A thought then crossed the robot and a frown came to his face. In the morning, his father would discover that he was gone from the Clock, and he would most likely send a team of Zoni to search the planet for him. He wondered what his father would do once he found out that he was no longer on Veldin. No doubt he would be devasted, and that was one aspect of this plan that Clank didn't like. He loved his father, he really did, with all of his heart, but he needed to live his own life. He knew that Orvus was just trying to protect him, and he felt guilty for disobeying him. But he couldn't stay in the Clock. It wasn't right to keep him there. This was the life he wanted. Clank would return to the Clock one day, but for now, this was his life. Even if his father wanted otherwise.

But Sigmund...Clank didn't even want to think of his friend. The heartbroken look on Sigmund's face when he was leaving was glued to his mind. Even though the robot could relate to Clank in every way, Clank knew that he didn't want him to leave. He had been such a good friend, leaving him also seemed selfish. But Sigmund swore that he understood and wished him luck. Clank gave a sad smile. He may want Ratchet as a friend, but Sigmund will always be his greatest friend.

As Clank thought more about his father and Sigmund, Ratchet folded up his final pair of pants and put them in the suitcase. He patted them down and thought for a moment. He believed that it was the last thing he needed to pack. But there was still one thing he needed to take care of. Glancing over at Clank before he did, Ratchet dug deep down into one of his containment boxes and came across a cardboard box that was well hidden among the variety of items. He opened it up and his eyes shined when they saw a large number of bolts inside. This was the closest thing he had to a bank. He had been setting money aside for his trip to Kerwan for many years, and through he had leeched off of these savings many times, there was still a good amount in there. About...two thousand bolts? Combined with what he had from his mechanic business (money that wasn't taken back through refunds), he should have a total of about four thousand bolts. That was a good number to live off of for the time being.

After collecting the bolts, Ratchet stood up, placed his hands on his waist, and sighed. That should have been everything that he needed. He peeked at the clock and saw that it was 10:24. They had to get moving very quickly or else they would miss the last transit of the day. But before he could move, Ratchet took another moment to look around his garage. It was funny, he never thought that he would miss this old place. After all, it was his home. But he supposed that everyone had to leave home someday. Clank did it for him, after all. Now it was his turn to leave. Though it may hurt for a bit, he knew that he could always come back.

Ratchet grabbed his suitcase and, on his way back to Clank, grabbed his Omniwrench and stuffed it inside the suitcase before zipping it up, safely storing the items inside. It was pretty heavy, but he could handle it. The last thing that he needed was his hoverboard and Clank himself. When he walked over to the robot, he noticed that Clank was lost in thought. Some pretty sad thoughts by the look of it. Ratchet leaned forward and snapped his fingers, getting Clank out of his trance.

"Hey, come on. I've got my stuff ready, so let's head out so we don't miss the transit."

"Oh! R-Right, I am coming," Clank said, quickly getting off of the recliner.

Ratchet didn't ask what Clank was thinking about, mostly because he had an idea of what it was based on the robot's expression. He didn't want to make the robot talk about something that he didn't want to talk about. So, Ratchet just watched as the robot followed him to the front of the garage. He grabbed his hoverboard and held the door open for Clank. Once they were both outside, Ratchet glanced over his shoulder and looked at the garage one last time. He took a deep breath; it was the beginning of a whole new life for him. And his first step was leaving this place behind. The hoverboard in his hands was thrown forward and onto the ground, where it hovered and waited to ridden. Ratchet eagerly hopped onto it, moving forward a bit and leaving some space behind him.

The Lombax looked behind him and motioned Clank to get on, "Hop on, I'll get us to the transit station in no time."

"U-Um..." Clank looked at the hoverboard with uncertainty. He had never seen a contraption like that before, let alone he had never seen anyone ride it. And he certainly didn't know how to ride it. He looked up at Ratchet, "I...have never used one of these before."

"It's alright, you don't have to do any of the steering, just balance yourself and stay on," the Lombax explained, showing Clank how he was balancing himself on the board. "I'm bigger than you and I'm managing to do it. You'll be fine."

"Alright, if you believe so..."

Clank trotted over to the hoverboard and lifted up a leg, unsteadily getting up onto the floating board. He waved his arms a bit as he grasped onto his balance and stood still. He looked up at Ratchet, who nodded approvingly, and braced himself for whatever was coming next.

Though he was not good at handling what came next.

Ratchet took off with the hoverboard at a rather fast speed, and as a result, the unprepared Clank was thrown way off balance and fell flat on his back. The robot was not okay with the sensation he felt. He supposed that this is what people called 'pain'. It didn't hurt that much, but experiencing it for the first time was never a pleasant thing, even if it was little pain. Ratchet quickly hopped off of his hoverboard and helped Clank up onto his feet.

"Sorry, little guy. I guess I'm used to taking off really fast," Ratchet said, shrugging.

"I am also not very good on my feet quite yet," Clank said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Either way, let's get back on. We don't have time to waste. We don't want to miss the transit. Are you up for another try?"

"Yes, I will try again."

Ratchet and Clank went back over to the hoverboard, which was floating idly once again. Ratchet hopped up onto it and left room for Clank like he did before. The robot got up onto the hoverboard, hoping that he could keep his balance a bit better this time. Ratchet made sure that Clank was ready before taking off again, this time at a slower pace. Even though they weren't going too fast, Clank still felt like he was going to fall off any moment. In a desperate attempt to stay on, Clank stumbled forward and grabbed onto Ratchet's leg. Alarmed by the sudden grasp, Ratchet looked down and saw the robot hanging onto him. He had half a mind to tell Clank to let go because it was throwing him off a bit, but he decided to hold his tongue and allow it. He couldn't explain it, but it was kind of nice. If Clank felt safe holding onto him while he hoverboarded, then who was he to shake him off and tell him not to?

A few minutes of hoverboarding went by and Ratchet felt himself beginning to panic a bit. A lot of time had passed by, what if they didn't make it to the transit in time? He didn't have a watch to tell him what time it was, so for all he knew, they had already missed it. This was his one chance to get off this rock with someone that was willing to go with him. He could not let this opportunity pass.

It was only when the transit station came into view that Ratchet felt himself calm down a bit. The hoverbus was still there at the station and its doors were still open, taking in passengers. Clank saw this as well, and he looked up at Ratchet with an elated face. Ratchet nodded and increased his speed a bit. But then something bad caught their attention. The line of passengers boarding came to an end. The passengers inside were finished taking their seats and the driver, an older Tharpod, was prepping the steering mechanism. The bus was about to leave and they were about to miss it.

"Ratchet, the transit is about to leave!" Clank said with a worried expression.

"It's not leaving without us!" Ratchet said with fierce determination. They had already come this far. Their plan was not going to fall short now. He looked down at Clank, "Hold on tight!"

Clank nodded and increased his grip on Ratchet's leg, the Lombax wincing a bit as the metal joints went into his skin. But he was willing to deal with it. He leaned forward on his hoverboard and increased speed. They were going faster...and faster...and faster. Ratchet's tail and ears blew with the wind as they raced forward. Clank held onto Ratchet leg tight, closing his eyes as the speed increased. The transit's doors were closing. Ratchet's eyes went wide as they quickly approached. He only had one shot at this. And while it would most likely end badly, he had to pull this off.

Ratchet held out his right hand as they approached the hoverbus. The moment that they reached the doors, he latched onto one of them, and his feet flew forward and his hoverboard turned ninety degrees up, putting it, Ratchet's feet and Clank in the air. Ratchet jumped off the hoverboard, grabbed Clank with his hand and the hoverboard with his arm. The moment that it ended, he let out a giant exhale. He nearly dropped to the ground, but he managed to keep his standing posture. He looked up at the bus driver, who was looking at him with great surprise.

"We...want to...get on, too," Ratchet said, gasping a bit.

"Please," Clank added, hanging by his arm as Ratchet kept a grip on his hand.

"Uh...that'll be five bolts," the driver said, still dumbfounded.

After taking a few moments to compose himself, Ratchet, along with Clank, gathered all of his belongings and got onto the transit, paying the five bolt fee. The two then went to the end of the bus (the passengers also looking dumbfounded as they walked by) and took a seat in the back row. Clank climbed up next to Ratchet and felt the plush seating. He smiled as he was happy to feel it. He looked up at Ratchet, who still looked worn out from the stunt he just pulled. Clank tilted his head.

"Are you alright, Ratchet?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ratchet said, sounding a bit tired. He rubbed his right arm, "I think I pulled something, though."

"Would you care for medical attention?" Clank asked, not knowing how serious 'pulling something' was.

The Lombax chuckled a bit and shook his head, "No, that's not necessary. I'll be fine."

Ratchet put his head back on the seat and looked out the window. The transit was hovering above the Veldin surface. The ground began turning into a mix of browns and reds. The Lombax watched with fascination as he had never seen the planet like this before. Not with his own eyes, at least. He got a bit closer to the window and watched the planet slowly become farther and farther away.

"Whoa..." Ratchet muttered. "So that's where I've been stuck this whole time."

Clank stood up next to him and looked outside as well. His eyes seemed to glow brighter at seeing such a sight. It was the kind of sights he wanted to see while he was outside of the Clock. This was already a great start. "It looks beautiful."

"Yeah, I guess it does."

Ratchet sat back in his seat, Clank plopping back down next to him. Despite leaving the planet quickly, it would take a few hours to get to Kerwan. They probably wouldn't be there until morning. It looked like that they were going to be here for awhile. Though that wasn't a bad thing, Clank was actually pretty good company, and he was nice to talk to. Though there was something that Ratchet had to say to the robot. He just hoped that things wouldn't get too mushy like they did before, he hated it when that happened. His green eyes glanced at the robot, who was sitting there silently.

"So, uh..."

"Hm?" Clank looked up at him.

"I...never actually thanked you for doing this with me. I definitely wouldn't have done this without you or at least someone like you. So, uh...thanks," Ratchet said sincerely.

The robot gave a warm smile, "It is my pleasure. Do not forget that this is an adventure for me, as well."

"Yeah, I guess it is. Looks like we're in this together, huh?" The Lombax said, raising an eyebrow.

The robot nodded, "Yes, we are."

Ratchet looked out the window again, feeling a bit tired as he relaxed. The stars looked so pretty when they were in space. He was glad that he got to see them like this. He put his head back and closed his eyes. Clank sitting there looking content as he tried to mimic those actions. Ratchet smiled a bit as he thought about what was to come. "Well, we're on our way."

* * *

 **I didn't expect the chapter to be this long. It was just supposed to be a transition chapter, but...I guess it's a bit more than that.**

 **So, Act II: Rebirth has begun. Let's see if it can size up to Act I: Royalty. But with Ratchet and Clank here now, I feel like it's going to have its own awesome moments.**

 **Also, a side note, as a commission for TheLilyoftheValley, I wrote a oneshot called "Life, Pride, and Time". It's an Ethereal Gates oneshot centered around Orvus and Baby XJ-0461. I recommend that you read it because it answers something about XJ-0461 that is not explained in this story. Also it's super cute. Baby XJ-0461 has baby talk and everything and it's great.**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, signing off!**


	11. Discoveries

The ticking of the Clock was currently falling on deaf ears. Alone in the small chamber was Orvus, who was staring out the window solemnly. The Clock looked beautiful today, as it always did, and several shooting stars were making their way through the cosmos. Orvus' eyes followed the sparkling trails that they left behind. He knew that it was a tradition among most races to make a wish whenever a shooting star was seen. Orvus wondered how many of those wishes actually came true. If they came true often, and shooting stars were really that powerful, then he only wanted to wish for one thing.

He wished that he didn't have to do what he was about to do.

Orvus noticed his reflection in the mirror. He frowned and his bright turquoise eyes were dull. He looked terrible. Like an organic when they're sick. Or rather like an elder Zoni who said some things that he wished he hadn't said to his own son. Orvus had spent most of the night thinking about the situation he and his son were in. On one side, Orvus understood XJ-0461's position and was almost proud of him for taking matters into his own hands. But on the other, Orvus was disappointed that his well behaved son would break the rule about not leaving the Clock, even after they had an argument about it. The universe was much too dangerous for XJ-0461 to be wandering.

The grip on Orvus' Chronoscepter grew tight as he thought about the unfortunate incident on planet Quantos. He cursed himself for not telling XJ-0461 about it sooner. If he knew, then he would understand Orvus' concerns and he would know that staying in the Clock was for his own safety. But like a fool, Orvus kept it under wraps, fearing what his son would think after hearing such a story. Simply thinking about it was enough to make the elder Zoni shudder. He could still see the look in their eyes…

'Well...there is no use stalling anymore,' he thought, frowning to himself. He glanced at the exit. 'I best go get him.'

Orvus rubbed his eyes for a moment before hovering to the end of the chamber, exiting it and meeting the cool air of the Great Clock. The chamber he was residing in came right before the Orvus Chamber, so he already had it in his sights. As he made his way to the Chamber, some concerned Zoni seemed to have picked up on their leader's negative energy, and they stopped and stared at him. Orvus waved off every single one that would stop and look at him, assuring them that he was just fine. Physically, at least. He appreciated his subjects' concerns, he really did, but he honestly wished that they wouldn't just stop and stare at him. It made him feel uncomfortable and it reminded him of how much his current state was affecting those around him. It had been a rough week and he was definitely showing it (not that he was meaning to).

Waving off all of the Zoni, Orvus came to the front of his chamber and hovered there for a moment. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Here went nothing. He pushed the large glass doors open and waited patiently for them to open. However, when he could see inside, he felt his heart almost stop. In the middle of the chamber, he could see a pile of familiar figure collapsed on the ground, completely lifeless. Orvus's eyes went wide and he felt disbelief crawl up his very being. Sigmund.

"Oh no…what…?!" Orvus had to take a moment to compose himself before rushing into the chamber. Nearly dropping his Chronoscepter, he went to Sigmund's side. He took a close look at his face. The robot wasn't moving and his eyes were completely dark. He was completely shut down. But why? Sigmund was supposed to be guarding the door! Desperately wanting answers, Orvus grabbed the screen on Sigmund's utility ring and powered it on. At least it was still working. He began typing on it. "Hold on, Sigmund. I will get you working again."

The elder Zoni quickly used Sigmund's computer to run a diagnostic. He immediately began reading as the results came up. It looked like Sigmund was simply powered down and there was no detection of any damage. Orvus let out a breath of relief. He then typed in a simple code that he learned about many years ago that would reactivate his friend. Sigmund had shown it to him in case something like this happened. Orvus was glad that he still had a good enough memory to remember it. He quickly entered it and floated back a bit, holding his breath a bit. At first, Sigmund remained on the floor. But within seconds, his gears were turning again, and a familiar yellow glow returned to his eyes. Orvus watched Sigmund gather himself, pushing himself off the ground and looking around, almost looking like he didn't know where he was. But, despite knowing that he was still powering on, Orvus floated a bit closer and frowned.

"Sigmund, what happened? Why were you powered down? You were supposed to be watching XJ-0461."

"XJ...0461...Oh!" Sigmund perked up as his memory banks booted up, and the memories of the previous night came flooding in. The frown on his face came immediately. He remembered that XJ-0461 had decided to run away after not being able to take being locked up in the Great Clock. He also remembered that they had made a cover story, making the idea that XJ-0461 uploaded a code to deactivate Sigmund for a few hours. The robot put his hands together and looked down a bit. It still hurt. He missed XJ-0461 already. But now he had to deal with Orvus, who was waiting for an answer. Sigmund felt a guilty feeling in his gut. He didn't want to go with XJ-0461's cover, but he promised that he would. He looked at Orvus, hoping that he wouldn't blow it. "I...don't remember much from what happened. But I think that...XJ-0461 uploaded a code to my computer from the console over there and shut me down."

"He _what?!"_ Orvus nearly shouted, astonished that his son would do such a thing to his own friend. After everything that had happened last night, he thought that XJ-0461 would obey the rules like he was supposed to. This was something that Orvus could never have predicted. But why would his son do such a thing? All Sigmund was doing was making sure that he couldn't get out-!

Orvus felt his heart skip a beat as he looked straight up into the Clock's core. He realized that, even after all of this commotion, it was eerily silent. The elder Zoni shook his head and muttered, "Oh no…"

Without wasting a moment, Orvus shot up into the Great Clock's core, submerging himself in the powerful quantum energy. In a slight flurry of panic, Orvus frantically searched around the large core for any sign of his son's usual green quantum energy. But, everywhere he looked, all he could see was the same bright blue. The elder Zoni's large eyes went wide as he grasped on to the realization: XJ-0461 wasn't here. He deactivated Sigmund so he could escape the Orvus Chamber without anyone knowing.

In a burst of bright blue light, and startling Sigmund a bit, Orvus quickly flew out of the core and he made his way to the chamber's console. He began typing furiously as he retraced his steps from yesterday. However, his hand stopped when he went to access the Clock's archives. His mind was telling himself to slow down. Though the possibility was great, XJ-0461 could simply be hiding in another part of the Clock. Orvus nearly laughed to himself as he rubbed the side of his head. He never thought that he would be in so much denial before. Still, tending to his concerns, Orvus raised his Chronoscepter and called upon a dozen Zoni. Each in a flash of white light, one by one Zoni subject appeared, waiting to hear the orders from their sire. Orvus pointed to the outside with his Chronoscepter, a serious and determined look on his face.

"Each of you, go out and search this entire facility for XJ-0461. If you find him, bring him back here to me immediately. This is a serious situation, so please hurry."

"Yes, sire," the Zoni said together in a powerful, harmonious voice.

At the word of their king, the large group of Zoni flew out of the Orvus Chamber and scattered across the Clock, searching for their missing prince. Orvus slowly lowered his Chronoscepter to his side and let out a small sigh. Sigmund, still with the intention of keeping his mouth shut on the truth of the situation, hovered up next to him. He knew that this part wasn't going to be easy. He couldn't help but feel bad for Orvus during this entire ordeal. The elder Zoni had not been in good health lately, and finding out that his son was no longer in the Clock was going to hit him hard.

Orvus's face had softened after the group of Zoni had left. He frowned, "I do not understand, Sigmund."

"Sir?" Sigmund asked, getting pulled out of his thoughts.

"XJ-0461 has been a good child for his whole life. I know that he is unhappy with his current state of living, but why would he do such extreme things? Sneaking out of the Clock, forcefully powering you down...it is not like him."

"Well...I guess you don't know people well until they're pushed to their limits," the robot said with a shrug.

"I didn't mean to push him to his limits," Orvus said sadly.

"Well, I mean...h-he wasn't _pushed_ to his limits per say, but...I-I should have worded that better," Sigmund said, scolding himself a bit. He shook his head, "L-Look, I'm sure that he'll be able to see things the way that you see them. It's just gonna take time. XJ-0461 isn't completely like you, after all, sir."

"Mmm...still," the elder Zoni said, adjusting his Chronoscepter, "what he did to you and what he's done overall is unacceptable. We may not quite see eye-to-eye, but he still has to follow the rules of the Clock."

"Yeah, I suppose he does..."

The next forty-five minutes was nearly spent in complete silence, with barely another word spoken from either Sigmund or Orvus. They both stayed put in the Orvus Chamber, but both were doing their own things. Orvus floated back and forth, an uncertain and worried look on his face as he waited for his Zoni scouts to return. Meanwhile, Sigmund pulled up some cartoons on his screen and simply sat around watching them. Though he did try his best to look worried about XJ-0461, despite that he technically already knew where he was. Though, Sigmund had to wonder, was XJ-0461 even on Veldin anymore? Or did he and that 'Ratchet' fellow already leave the planet? Who knew?

Sigmund looked up from his cartoon and pulled himself out of his thoughts to look at Orvus. He was still pacing (well, the floating version of pacing). His turquoise eyes looked strained and worry had seemingly engulfed his entire being. Sigmund frowned. Orvus hadn't even found out that XJ-0461 was gone and he was already worried sick. XJ-0461 knew that his father would be in despair over his disappearance, but it's not something that Sigmund looked forward to seeing. Orvus loved his son very much, despite XJ-0461's rule-breaking. Knowing that his pride and joy left would shatter him. He already looked like that he was ill, this was the last thing he needed.

Sigmund knew that he was going to regret letting XJ-0461 go.

Orvus kept floating back and forth as he waited for his Zoni scouts to return. His grip on the Chronoscepter had grown more intense with each passing minute. They had been gone for awhile. Could they not find him? Did XJ-0461, his well-behaved and innocent son, really teleport-?

The elder Zoni felt like he could smack himself on the side of the head. No no, this was not the time to be jumping to conclusions. XJ-0461 was probably hiding out in one of the far corners of the Clock thinking about what had happened yesterday. He probably didn't like the idea of Sigmund being there to keep him trapped in the Orvus Chamber. This was a perfectly logical explanation, and Orvus was willing to bet that he was right in thinking it. Or...maybe he was just in denial.

" _Sire!"_

Orvus and Sigmund both turned to the entrance of the Orvus Chamber as the group of Zoni returned from their search. Sigmund hovered over alongside Orvus, who wasted no time asking his subjects questions, "Where is he? Where was he hiding? Is he alright?"

Some of the Zoni in the group looked at each other and almost seemed hesitant to answer. All of their deep blue eyes looked at their leader, whose slightly hopeful face was already fading. In their harmonious voice, they said, " _The Prince was not found. The Prince is not in the Clock."_

The elder Zoni's eyes went wide and he lowered his Chronoscepter, "He...wasn't found...?"

Sigmund could almost feel the tension in Orvus's voice. He looked at his friend with sympathy. A feeling in his circuitry told him that he should say something to him, anything, that would make him feel the slightest bit of comfort. However, before he even had a chance to open his mouth, Orvus zipped over to the Orvus Chamber's main console and he began typing on it again. Sigmund hovered over to it, though he already knew what Orvus as bringing up. Orvus kept a blank expression as he pulled up the Clock's teleportation system's history. This was what told him that XJ-0461 had left the Clock the other day. And sure enough, there was an entry from last night, around the time that Sigmund went to the Orvus Chamber to guard it. Like before, it was to Planet Veldin.

Orvus took a moment to breathe a bit, feeling rather stupid for being in denial earlier and not checking the teleportation history right away. A part of him knew that his son was not in the Clock, he just refused to listen to it because he thought that XJ-0461 had learned his lesson. But even the brightest of people can be dull sometimes. And he was no exception.

'Keep yourself together, old timer,' Orvus thought to himself. 'The longer you spend regretting the situation, the longer it will take to resolve it.'

Sigmund could feel his mechanical heart racing as Orvus just stared at the monitor. He looked really stressed out. As expected, he was not taking XJ-0461's disappearance well. Sigmund wondered what his boss's next plan of action was going to be. Though he already had a feeling that it wasn't going to go the way that he wanted. The robot huffed to himself. Keeping secrets was harder than he thought. But, out of loyalty to XJ-0461 and his struggle, he kept his mouth shut. Though he let out a small yelp and Orvus sharply turned around, an almost angry look on his face.

Orvus pointed his Chronoscepter at the group of Zoni, "Everyone, this situation is reaching possibly dangerous levels, and we must tend to it immediately. I need you group of Zoni to travel to Planet Veldin and search the planet for XJ-0461."

"All of them?" Sigmund said with great surprise and worry. "Sir, are you sure-"

"I am very sure, Sigmund," the elder Zoni said with confidence and a nod. He looked back at the group of Zoni, aware of the precautions they had to take when traveling outside of the Clock. "When you reach the planet, you must remain invisible to people. Do not be seen by anyone. Stay in groups of at least three in order to harness enough hivemind power. The moment you find XJ-0461, bring him back to the Clock immediately, no matter what he says. Do you all understand?"

" _Yes, sire."_ The large group of Zoni simply replied together.

"Excellent. You shall leave for Veldin at once. With all of you together, you shouldn't need the teleportation system to get there." The Zoni's tone suddenly became soft "And all of you, please, stay safe. Find my son and bring him home. I wish you all luck."

With those closing words from their king, the group of Zoni, almost one by one, began disappearing in a flash of bright white light. The group of Zoni became smaller and smaller until the last one teleported out of the Chamber, following its fellow members to Veldin for their mission. Orvus let out a sigh of relief. He might have pushed himself a little too hard with those instructions. He really should take it a bit more easy from now on.

Sigmund noticed how tired he looked already. He hovered a little closer, "Sir, are you alright? Besides the, um...the whole XJ-0461 situation."

Orvus sighed, "I am fine. I simply need to rest for a bit. But when XJ-0461 is brought back, I am going to give him a piece of my mind."

"Are you sure about this? Sending all of those Zoni? Because, after Quantos, I didn't think that you would send out that many Zoni at once."

"I understand your concern, Sigmund. And I do not know how far this ordeal is going to go." The elder Zoni was about to say something else, but something caught his eye. Something gold and shimmering. He turned his body a bit and he saw the lone Chronscepter leaning up against the side of the Orvus Chamber's console. XJ-0461's Chronoscepter. Orvus narrowed his eyes and huffed. "But I do know one thing for sure. That little boy is in _big_ trouble."

 _~Meanwhile~_

"We are now arriving at the glorious city of Metropolis on Planet Kerwan. Please do not leave your children or any biohazards behind. Thank you for choosing the Intergalactic Transit System."

The transit came to a complete stop as it pulled into the bus stop. The double doors hissed open, releasing its passengers as well as a bus driver, who had finished his shift and was moving along for the next shift to come aboard. Clank scooted forward and dropped down from his seat, stretching his new limbs a bit. He didn't think that the trip to Planet Kerwan was going to be that long.

Between traveling from planet to planet, stopping at other bus stops and letting new passengers aboard, the whole trip had taken a little over seven hours. Not many new passengers showed up, though, because it was late in the night. Any children that had come aboard were either asleep in their parent's arms or too tired to do anything, so it was a very quiet trip. There was minimal talk, even between Ratchet and Clank. Though it was Ratchet's first time off of Veldin, the view outside wore itself out rather quickly for him, and he fell asleep like many other passengers did.

However, Clank was too excited to go to sleep. During most of the trip, the robot stared out the window as the transit traveled lazily through the cosmos, billions of stars and a great number of planets being seen everywhere he looked. He would have never gotten a view like this in the Great Clock, not even of the stars. He wanted to take in as much as possible while he was free from his Zoni life. While his current robot body was still taking some getting used to, like feeling everything that came into contact with him and listening to his joints constantly whir as he moved them around, it was definitely a nice change. He never felt so whole in his life, both physically and mentally.

Coming back from his memories, Clank looked over his shoulder to see what Ratchet was doing. Even after all of the commotion of the driver's announcement and all of the passengers getting off, the Lombax was still sound asleep. The robot tilted his head. He wondered if all Lombaxes were heavy sleepers like Ratchet was. He had been meaning to research Lombaxes in his new built-in database, but the fact that he even had a built-in database had completely escaped him. He shrugged to himself, at least it would give him something to do later on.

Clank reached forward and grabbed Ratchet's leg and began shaking it, "Ratchet, we have arrived at Planet Kerwan. You must wake up."

"Mmm...huh...?" The Lombax stirred as Clank shook him. He lifted his head up from the padded seat that now had a Lombax sized print in it and opened his eyes slowly. His ears drooped as he wiped drool off the side of his mouth and yawned while stretching his arms. It took him a few seconds of rubbing his eyes before he could see properly. He glanced at the robot in front of him and scratched the back of his ear, "Wha...what are you goin' on about...?"

"The transit has pulled into the bus station in a city called 'Metropolis', so we must get off before we are forced off."

"Ah, yeah...the bus station...and...and Metropolis... _wait._ " Ratchet's ears shot up, as well as the rest of him. His now wide eyes glanced out the window and he was met with the sight of a large city. He smiled as he scooted closer, "Whoa! We really are in Metropolis! I really must have been knocked out."

"Knocked out? I do not recall anyone hitting you and rendering you unconscious," Clank said, tilting his head again.

"No no, I mean that I was in a really deep sleep."

"Oh."

The robot placed a digit on his chin. He didn't expect Ratchet to word his deep slumber like that because it wasn't exactly the truth, he wasn't knocked out. He supposed that there were a lot of Ratchet's mannerisms that he had yet to identify. And confusing sayings was one of them.

Ratchet felt the urge to roll his eyes at the robot's confusion but suppressed it, knowing that the creature that dwelled inside the robot was a confused creature who had very little experience outside his own species. Instead, he tapped the robot on the shoulder and nodded his head toward the front of the bus, signaling that they could get off now. After gathering his luggage, Ratchet followed behind Clank and slowly made their way off the transit (maybe he shouldn't have let the newly walking, short-legged robot go first), Clank hopping down one step at a time and Ratchet making sure that he didn't bump his luggage into anything.

It didn't take long between stepping on the landing platform and looking up for the two to be in complete awe. Just with the view from the train station, Metropolis looked like a shimmering wonderland. A plethora of gold and white buildings stretched upwards and reached for the clear azure skies. Sunlight bounced off the many reflective surfaces and shined down on its many civilians. Clank smiled a tad bit as he felt the warmth of the sun again. A wind blew through the area as hundred of hovercars going in a variety of directions flew through the sky. A leaf from a neatly planted tree that accompanied a plethora of other plant life growing throughout the city broke off the branch it was clinging to and landed in front of Ratchet. There was very little plant life on Veldin, and even then it was rare to see a green one, so seeing such greenery was a rare sight for him. This place was better than he could ever imagine. And they were still only at the bus stop.

Clank tilted his head and gently picked the leaf up. Ratchet looked at him, "Do you have plants where you live?"

The robot nodded, "Yes, but we do not have trees. We mostly have bushes and ferns, though we do see a wildflower growing every once in a while."

"Hm, so seeing this much greenery is a new experience for both of us." Ratchet breathed in some fresh Kerwan air before walking forward. "Come on. Let's do a bit of looking around before we settle in."

"Agreed."

Clank quickly followed behind Ratchet, making sure to avoid getting hit by the swinging suitcase his friend was carrying. As he walked, his eyes drifted a bit. His gaze went up to the skies above and he squinted a bit. The morning hours were coming on to the Great Clock by now, meaning that his father would soon find out that he was gone. The robot wondered what Orvus's plan of action was going to be. He was usually very strict about sending Zoni out of the Great Clock, so who knew if he was even going to send a search party? Clank just hoped that the Zoni would never find him. He was still a Zoni after all and they could still sense him, just like he could sense them. Only time would tell if this whole running away plan would work out on his end. But for now, as he placed the stray leaf down at the base of the tree that it had fallen off of, all he wanted to be concerned about what adventures laid ahead of him with Ratchet.

After returning the fallen leaf to its tree, Clank trotted up next to Ratchet, who was walking at a pace that he was having a bit of trouble keeping up with. Ratchet noticed this and slowed down a tad bit, "Sorry, you're just gonna have to learn to keep up with those short legs."

"Yes, well, I am still learning how to fully operate them, so it is natural that I would have trouble with-oof!"

Before Clank could finish his sentence, someone walking in the opposite direction, another Tharpod bus driver by the look of it, tripped over Clank and they both fell to the ground. Ratchet was quick to drop his luggage and help the two up. Clank was placed back on his feet and he shook his head and the Tharpod rubbed the back of his head. The robot looked at him with an apologetic face.

"I am so sorry, sir. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that, I didn't see you. Hey kid, watch where your robot walks. He's gonna end up gettin' tripped on by everyone," the Tharpod said, standing up and brushing himself off.

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind," Ratchet said, finding it strange that the man called Clank 'his robot'. But it wasn't like he knew the situation with Clank, so Ratchet guessed that the assumption wasn't exactly an outrageous one. And before the Tharpod could leave he decided to get some info on where they were at. "Hey, do you know where we can find a place to stay for awhile? Something that's, uh... decently affordable."

"Hmm..." the Tharpod took a moment to think. He pointed northwest before nodding, "I believe there are some hotels over by the nature preserve in the nearby plaza. But if you're looking for something more permanent, there's an apartment complex with low renting prices in the lower northern area. "Those are the only ones that I know of, though."

"That's more than enough information that we needed, thanks," Ratchet said with a smile.

After waving farewell the Tharpod and making a mental note of the location of the apartment complex, Ratchet looked down at Clank, who was adjusting his head after being tripped on. It didn't look like the robot body received any damage, so that was good. He didn't know how durable the defective robot body was, to be honest. He hoped that it could take some accidental hits or damage because if the spirit inside was left without a body, there could be trouble. Speaking of which, he thought about what the Tharpod said about Clank being in danger of being tripped on. It was true that the people who lived in the city were rather busy, so they won't be looking where they are going most of the time. Plus, Clank wasn't exactly the most sturdy robot, and he could easily fall behind or even get separated in a crowd. There had to be a solution to this.

Clank readjusted his head until it sat comfortably on his neck again. He had only been here for about five minutes and he already had a bad experience. He sighed a bit, hoping that the entire trip wasn't going to be like this. The robot didn't leave the Great Clock to be literally stepped on. If anything, that was what he was trying to avoid. He looked up at Ratchet, who was apparently already looking down at him.

"I am fine if you are waiting for me to tell you," Clank said, brushing a bit of dirt off of his shoulder.

"Well, that wasn't exactly what I was lookin' at you for, but it's nice to know." Ratchet then knelt down and grabbed Clank's shoulders. The robot tilted his head as he was turned around. The Lombax hummed to himself in thought, "Hmm..."

"Pardon me, but what are you doing?" The robot asked, looking over his shoulder.

"I was just thinking about what that old Tharpod said. You probably shouldn't be walking around in a busy place like this. You'll just get tripped on again, and it'll stop being funny after awhile."

"You thought it was funny before?"

Ratchet paused for a moment, "...Pfft, no. Of course not. Anyway, I'm looking at this hex mount on your back."

"Hex mount?" Clank turned his head fully around (it felt a bit strange being able to do that) and looked down at the hexagon shaped groove in his back. He knew that it was there this whole time, but he simply thought it was for decoration. He didn't think that it actually had a name. "What does it do?"

"Well, if it's managed to maintain a proper shape and can lock on properly, I think we can do..." Suddenly, Ratchet grabbed on to Clank's hand and swung him upwards, the robot letting out a surprised yelp as he was flung over the Lombax's shoulder and hit his back onto his friend's back. With their backs together, they both made out a distinct click sound. Ratchet released Clank's hand and the robot stayed where he was, mounted on Ratchet's back like a backpack. Ratchet smirked, "That."

Clank felt a bit disoriented after his little flight. He could feel XJ-0461 spinning around inside him. He shook his head and looked at his position. Waving his feet a bit to feel the nothingness below him, he looked over his shoulder at Ratchet. "Is this what the hex mount does?"

Ratchet nodded. "Yeah, it connects with other hex mounts. I have one on the back of the harness I wear so I can carry my Omniwrench on my back. I noticed that the defective robot body you're in had one when I first found it. Thankfully it wasn't warped in any way so it can still connect. Now you can chill out on my back instead of getting trampled by everyone in Metropolis."

"Yes, I suppose this is better." As much as Clank agreed that this was the best and most logical solution to his situation. Something about this method...bothered him. He was practically clinging to the back of the Lombax and taking the form of a backpack. He voiced his concerns out loud as he realized more and more how strange it was. "While I appreciate you carrying me on your back like this, I find this arrangement slightly...embarrassing."

The Lombax raised an eyebrow at Clank's complaints, simply offering him a shrug. "Sorry, but this is all I can do for you. You're still learning to use your legs, so we really have no choice. Besides, this is the best way for you to keep up. And if you keep complaining about it, I'll just do this."

With a slightly mischievous smile on his face, Ratchet shook his shoulders and his back, shaking Clank along with them. The robot let out a yelp before he pleaded for mercy, "Whoa! Alright, I will not complain! This is fine! I am sorry!"

Ratchet chuckled as he seized his shaking, Clank recovering from his unpleasant ride as he did. Though Clank didn't necessarily appreciate what Ratchet just did to him, something about it made him feel...nice? It was a bit hard to describe. Ratchet wasn't really being mean to him or anything, it was more playful than hostile. It felt like something that a friend would do to another friend. Clank pondered this. He wondered if Ratchet saw him as a friend already. Or something like a companion? Perhaps he was thinking about it too much. And with Ratchet picking up his things and beginning to walk out of the transit station, Clank decided to simply smile and prepare for whatever was next.

Ratchet, and by extension, Clank, walked out of the transit station and followed the directions that the old Tharpod had given him. He remembered the Tharpod pointing north when telling him about the apartment complex. If what he said was true, then the lower northern area was their current destination. If they were planning on staying here for awhile then they would need a place to live. They couldn't stay in a hotel for weeks or months so that was out of the question. And with their somewhat low funds, they would have to settle for a rather low priced apartment. There was only two of them so it didn't have to be big or fancy. Ratchet lived in a garage his whole life, so his living standards weren't exactly that high. As long as it was affordable, he would be happy. Probably.

And even though they were in the lower part of Metropolis, the sight of the city was simply marvelous.

Clank's large eyes reflected the many buildings that seemed larger than life itself. It was like they were genuinely piercing the heavens. And even in the shade, the plant life was abundant, bringing trees and bushes and flower gardens, which bloomed with flowers that came in every color of the rainbow. Plants that were manually planted were neatly placed around parks that children of many species were playing in. Each one was given a fountain that shot out crystal clear water that cascaded gracefully down every level of the fountain before pooling into the bottom. Kids were running around tagging each other, splashing each other with fountain water, or sitting with their loved ones. There were even some adults enjoying their time, sitting under trees and reading books or going for an afternoon jog. All of it was enough to make Clank's eyes shimmer with joy. He would have never seen anything like this in the Great Clock...

A small frown came onto Clank's face then. He looked again at the children sitting with their loved ones, such as mothers, siblings and...fathers. The robot could feel a guilty pain in his chest as he could barely make out the image of his father in his mind. He remembered that, when he was younger, he and Orvus would sit with each other in the Great Clock's greenery. They would look over the edge of the platform and watch the Zoni fly by and the stars twinkle. Clank placed a hand on his chest and frowned again. He kept reminding himself that he wasn't going to be absent from the Great Clock forever, but thinking of his father...it almost made him regret leaving his home. After all, nothing could replace his father. It was like he had torn a hole in his own heart. And nothing else could fill it.

"Hey, are you alright back there?"

Clank was almost startled by hearing Ratchet's voice. He took his hand off of his chest and looked over his shoulder, "Y-Yes, I am fine. I was just thinking."

Ratchet shrugged and then smiled, "Alright, whatever you say. We're almost at the apartment complex. I think that's it over there. Let's hope we get a decent apartment. Gotta have a decent place to live if we're gonna be explorin' a new world."

"Indeed," the robot agreed, the frown on his face fading. Exploring a new world...there was something about that that made him happy. Even excited. Even though he missed his father, he knew that he had a whole universe to explore thanks to his decision. And it wasn't like he was alone, he had Ratchet with him. They didn't know each other that long, but it was better than having no one with him. The hole in his heart remained but at least Ratchet could fill it, even if it was just a little (that sounded strange, but it comforted him).

 _~Meanwhile~_

Orvus let out deep breaths as he kept his eyes closed, semi-meditating in the Orvus Chamber. It had been a few hours since he sent the Zoni to planet Veldin and they had yet to return. The ticking of the Clock seemed louder than ever, with every tick reminding its creator that his son had still not been found by the search party. Orvus had been so stressed out over it that he forced himself to calm down the meditate a bit. He had been hovering in the same spot for most of the hours that the Zoni had been gone, and he did not feel any less stressed. Usually, meditation calmed him down within a few minutes, but now, it simply felt like he was just keeping his eyes closed and doing nothing. This ordeal was really taking it out of him, and he was going to let his son know that once he was brought back to the Clock.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the Orvus Chamber, Sigmund sat quietly in the corner, almost distancing himself from Orvus as he tried to meditate. He couldn't describe how uncomfortable he felt right now. Seeing Orvus so stressed out and XJ-0461's disappearance weighing him down was so hard to watch. And it didn't make Sigmund feel any better knowing full well what happened to XJ-0461. Every time he looked at Orvus he felt the urge to just spill everything that he knew just to get it off his chest. But the promise he kept to his friend and the fear of Orvus's anger forced him to keep his mouth shut. The robot sighed to himself, keeping secrets was probably one of the hardest things he ever had to do.

But at least his knowledge of what was going on was about to fade. All he knew what that XJ-0461 was running away and Sigmund only knew about his Veldin destination. When the Zoni come back saying that they weren't able to find him, Sigmund would officially be as clueless as they were. The stress of keeping his mouth shut would finally ease up and he could feel less guilty about it. However, his worry was going to remain. Sigmund looked out the light blue glass window and into the universe beyond. He wondered what XJ-0461 was seeing right now? What kind of people did he meet already? Though, he knew that the young Zoni had already met someone, the "Ratchet" person. That Ratchet was probably the only person who was looking out for his friend right now. At least, he hoped so.

'Look after my friend, Ratchet person,' Sigmund thought to himself. 'If you let something happen to him, I swear, I will never let you hear the end of it! No siree!'

"Sigmund?"

Sigmund jumped as he suddenly heard Orvus calling for him. He whipped around and saw the elder Zoni looking at him. He straightened himself before answering, "Yes, sir?"

Orvus hesitated for a moment, looking like he wasn't sure about what to say. He looked at the robot with his large turquoise eyes, "I was thinking. What I said to XJ-0461 last night...was I too harsh? Do you believe that I chased him away with what I said?"

Sigmund was quick to shake his head, "O-Oh, no sir, don't think like that. I can't really tell you what's going through XJ-0461's mind right now, but I know that he still loves you, no matter what you say to him. Once he's brought back to the Clock we can get this all sorted out and go back to the way things were."

The smallest smile showed up on Orvus's face, but it was quick to fade. He lowered his head slightly and he glanced at XJ-0461'a Chronoscepter out of the corner of his eye, "I do hope that you're right...perhaps-"

 _"Sire!"_

Orvus and Sigmund's attention were both grabbed by the sound of the familiar voices of the Zoni. Orvus gripped his Chronoscepter tight and raised his head as he felt the group of Zoni returning. It looked like it was time to teach his son a lesson. There was going to be punishments involved and definitely a stern talking to. There were so many things he wanted to say to his son right now. He was angry at him, horrified at what he did, disappointed in his lack of respect for the rules of the Clock, worried about...his safety...and happy just to see his face again...Orvus's anger was very high, yes, but just knowing that his son was going to be back in the Great Clock relived him. And as the flashes of the Zoni came one by one, he was ready to tell his son everything that he needed to hear, the good and the bad.

The elder Zoni floated forward and already began speaking, "XJ-0461, I hope that you did not have any plans today because you are in quite the amount of...trouble...young man...what?"

The Zoni finished teleporting back in from Veldin. Every single one was accounted for. However, each one of them was empty-handed, there was no sign of XJ-0461 in the crowd whatsoever. Orvus had to check in the group over and over just to make sure, but there was no mistaking it. His son was not with them. He shook his head in disbelief and glanced at Sigmund, who looked just as confused as he did.

Orvus floated up to the group of Zoni, "I...I don't understand. Where is he? You were supposed to find him."

The Zoni looked around at one another before speaking altogether, _"Prince was not found on Veldin. His energy was not detected. We apologize for our failure at finding him, Sire."_

"But...he was supposed to be...how is he not...?"

Orvus almost floated down onto the ground as he felt the weight of the universe weighing down on his shoulders. He placed a hand on his head as his eyes went wide. He didn't understand. XJ-0461 was supposed to be on Veldin. The console said that he teleported to Veldin last night! Where else could he have gone? If he had an organic heart, it would be racing with one thousand beats per minute. This wasn't good in the slightest. His son was officially missing and he had no idea where he was or where to start looking. The Zoni could feel the immense negative energy coming from him and they all started to feel uncomfortable and a bit fussy. Orvus tried his best to calm down, but he couldn't bring himself to calm himself even in the slightest. If XJ-0461 was outside the Clock and didn't have access to quantum energy, then, if he wasn't brought back soon, he would dissipate and...and...

Sigmund hovered over to Orvus, thinking that he was about to collapse with the strained look on his face. However, the moment the robot reached for him, Orvus shot up with an unsettling look on his face. He even caught his own subjects by surprise. He waved his Chronoscepter and shouted his orders.

"All of you! We are dealing with a critical situation! If we do not find XJ-0461, he will dissipate and cease to exist! We must bring him home at once! If he managed to get off the planet, then we will begin searching the planets in the Solana galaxy. I will be sending more Zoni search parties shortly. As for this group, begin searching Planet Quartu. Just like your search on Veldin, look everywhere! Find his energy and bring him home the moment you find him! Bring your Prince home!" Orvus took a moment to pause, exhausting himself after the large burst of energy and anger. Even he noticed how intense he was being. He cursed himself for doing that to the Zoni and himself. Yelling wasn't going to get them anywhere. He looked back at the Zoni, who were surprised at his sudden outburst. He frowned, "I am sorry if I am being harsh, but please...I cannot lose my son. Please bring him home. You shall leave at once. And please...do not put yourselves in danger. We cannot lose anyone. Do you understand me?"

The Zoni were silent for a moment, taking in all the information and surprise from their leader. It was only when Orvus gave them a reassuring nod that they responded, " _Yes, Sire. We must find the Prince."_

Orvus gave them the faintest smile as they quickly began teleporting again, not wanting to keep their sire waiting. He watched all of them disappear one by one again, still cursing himself for being so intense. That burst of energy he had was just too much for him that he couldn't contain it. He hadn't had to deal with a situation this severe ever since the incident with the Fongoids. And that was really saying something.

"Sir...?"

The elder Zoni looked to his right and saw Sigmund cautiously hovering up to him. He frowned and looked away, shaking his head, "I am sorry that you had to see that, Sigmund. I was surprised myself."

"I don't really blame you, actually," the robot frowned and looked down. "I'm pretty worried about XJ-0461, too. I hope he's alright."

"I hope that he is alright, as well. I simply hope that we find him in time. If he dissipates before we find him..."

"That is something to worry about, but XJ-0461 knows what would happen if he doesn't conserve quantum energy. I don't think he would go out into the universe without a plan of energizing himself," Sigmund said with a small shrug.

"Perhaps you are right, but it is too dangerous out there for him. If what happened on Quantos happens to him..." Orvus felt a bit of anger and worry rise into him. He looked back up, his energized heart practically pounding. Sigmund noticed this and decided to back down, thinking that Orvus might need some alone time. The elder Zoni shook his head and muttered, "I didn't watch four hundred and sixty of my children perish so he could expose himself to the dangers of the universe."

"I know you didn't, sir," Sigmund said quietly, praying for XJ-0461's safety. "I know you didn't..."

* * *

 **So uh...two months since I've updated...I am so sorry. But hey! 8,152 word chapter! Longest chapter yet! That makes up for it right?**

RIGHT?

 **Also, this story now has a cover! The artwork was done by the talented Styx-lombax and she did a wonderful job on it. So if you've ever wondered what XJ-0461 looks like, you have your answer. He's a little green boi.**

 **So, looks like Orvus is starting to lose his temper. But can you blame him? His son ran away and is in danger of dying due to lack of quantum energy (well, that's what Orvus thinks, at least) so Time Dad's bound to be a bit stressed. Let's see how he handles this stress, anger and worry.**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, signing off...hopefully not for another two months...!**


	12. Sensing Problems

Morning finally arrived in the city of Metropolis. The golden buildings shimmered against the rising morning sun and the whole city was slowly coming awake.

Down in the bowels of the city and laying dormant inside a tiny apartment was Ratchet and Clank, who were sound asleep in their newly bought home. Most of the stuff they had brought was unpacked, but the apartment was so small that there weren't really proper places to put them, so Ratchet mostly threw all the items aside and decided to deal with them later.

The Lombax laying on the mattress jolted a bit as he was suddenly pulled out of slumber by his mind's own accord. Clank, who was sleeping in a drawer with a pillow inside the nightstand next to the bed still slept peacefully, his mind shut down and resting. Ratchet opened his eyes slightly, feeling the gross drool on the side of his face. Disgusted, he raised his head a bit and wiped his mouth. Looked like that was his cue to get up. He huffed as he sat up and opened his eyes all the way, his vision a bit blurry from just waking up. But he didn't need to see clearly to see what was around him. He had to admit, it was strange waking up in an apartment instead of the garage. But he didn't know if that was good or bad.

Ratchet swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up, stretching his arms and back. He scratched his head and walked lazily over to the window, letting out a big yawn as he threw the curtains open so the beautiful new environment would welcome him.

"Hoo, good morning, Metropoli-!" The Lombax's ears lowered as he was simply met with the sight of a wall belonging to the building next door. The apartment's placing was really abysmal, but it was affordable. Ratchet huffed, "Oh, right...we don't exactly have the best view. You think that all of the apartments would have a decent view instead of having one pointing at a wall."

"Hm?" Clank stirred from his sleep when his audio sensors picked up Ratchet's loud talking. His glowing green eyes opened slowly and he placed his chin on the side of the drawer to see what was going on. "Ratchet…?"

"Oh hey, look who's awake," Ratchet said, digging through some of his belongings. He pulled out a fresh pair of pants and tossed them onto his bed. "Rise and shine, pal. You slept like a rock last night. Granted, I did too, but I didn't think that I would take up before you."

"I do not believe that rocks are capable of sleeping," the robot said a bit quietly as he sat up on his knees and rubbed his eyes. That was certainly an interesting night of sleep. It was similar to how he rested in the Great Clock as a Zoni, except he had to physically power down his systems instead of breaking into pieces of quantum energy. It was still cozy nonetheless. And the softness of the pillow made the experience more pleasant.

Ratchet dug through his belongings once more, this time searching through the portions of food he had brought from Veldin. He grabbed a few protein bars and tore off the wrapper for one of them, taking a decent sized bite out of it. They had to save as many bolts as possible if they were going to be living on Kerwan, so he would have to have protein bars for breakfast instead of going to a restaurant. Also, he planned on spending bolts for something else today, so he didn't have much room for any other spending today.

Clank climbed out of his drawer bed, wobbling a bit as he landed on his feet. Thankfully he had gained better control of his new body, so he was able to quickly regain balance. The robot body was already feeling more natural to him. It was like a missing half that took a bit of getting used to. He listened to his joints whirr as he extended them and Ratchet walked by and tapped him on the head, sitting down on his rough bed as he took another bite of the protein bar.

"Mm, so, we need to do a bit of shopping today. Well, I need to, I don't know about you."

"Where are we going to go?" Clank asked, looking up at his friend.

"Well, I figured that if I'm going to be living in a place like Metropolis, I shouldn't be walking around without a shirt...or shoes," Ratchet replied, looking down at his bare feet. He finished the protein bar in his hand and opened up the second one. "So I should probably pick up some new clothing. Hope you don't mind."

"Not at all. I simply care about seeing what this planet has to offer, even if it is something as simple as a clothing store."

"That's the spirit." Ratchet devoured his other protein bar and brushed the crumbs out of his fur. He grabbed the pair of pants he had tossed onto the bed and motioned Clank to the door. "Now get out, I need to change into some clean pants. And by clean, I mean as clean as I was going to get them. Thank the stars I have a place to do laundry here..."

About ten minutes and a change of pants later, Ratchet and Clank left their dumpy-yet-homey apartment and made way for one of Metropolis' many shopping districts. Even in the morning, the city was crawling with life (and hovercars). People were out early in the morning to get errands done, get to work, go to school, or because of the fact that they were just simply morning people. Ratchet himself wasn't exactly a morning person, but the excitement of being on a new planet really pushed him out of bed this morning. The morning sun felt nice and the gentle breeze, while a little chilly, was pleasant. A beautiful morning would never look like this on Veldin.

Clank swayed back and forth slightly as he rode around on Ratchet's back like he had the other day. Despite his jaw being in a mostly fixed position, he had the biggest smile on his face, he could almost feel his Zoni form smiling. It was like a dream come true when he woke up this morning and not having to drop out of the Great Clock's core. He wasn't seeing the morning hours of the Great Clock, he was seeing the morning sunrise as people woke up with him. The sense of tranquility that came with seeing a morning like this was truly something Clank had been longing for for a long time. There some things that he read in books that simply could not be fully understood until he tried or saw them for himself. Not even the highest quality screen could reproduce this beautiful morning. For the first time in a long time, he was truly happy. Though the sense of guilt about running away was still in him somewhere, he didn't bother looking for it. He simply wanted to be at peace for once.

As expected, the nearby shopping district was full of a variety of stores. Gift shops, bakeries, candle shops, supply stores, markets, each one had customers flowing in and out of them. And, in the mix of it all, was a somewhat small clothing store that sold people's simple needs: shirts, pants, shoes, and some seasonal clothes here and there.

"Alright, let's try this place," Ratchet said, pushing on the door to the establishment. The shopkeep waved hello to the new customers. The place was neatly organized and even a little quiet, which was a nice break from the constant honking of the hovercars. Ratchet looked at Clank as the robot jumped off his back, "Alright, I'm gonna go grab a shirt and some shoes. I'll be right back."

Clank nodded and watched his friend disappear into one of the clothing aisles, leaving him alone at the front of the store. Ratchet didn't seem like the kind of person who would take too long to make a decision, so the robot knew that he wouldn't be waiting for long. But he might as well find something to do while the Lombax was gone as he couldn't just stand still and do nothing. Clank looked around for something that would catch his interest. He had never worn clothes of outsides before. As a spirit, he didn't need any clothing because he could not physically wear them. And the only thing that Zoni wear is their energy suits that make it so they could survive outside of the Zoni Dimension. And while the suits were very nice looking, Clank couldn't help but express a bit of interest in the clothing that outsiders wore. They came in different shapes, sizes, colors, designs, it was rather fascinating.

As Clank turned around to look some more, something he saw in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He looked to see what it was and was met with a tall rack in the corner. It was covered in a literal rainbow of colors, going in the pattern of a traditional rainbow. Curious, he walked over to it and decided to see what exactly this was. Upon closer examination of the products and the sign attached to the rack, it seemed that the rack was lined with scarfs. Clank remembered seeing a scarf in one of the cartoons he watched with Sigmund. If he was correct, they were worn around the neck to help the person wearing it to stay warm. Or to help them look cool.

The robot glanced behind him to see if Ratchet had returned from gathering new clothes, but his friend was not seen. Hesitating a bit, Clank reached up and grabbed hold of a green scarf that he was attracted to when he first laid eyes on the rack. He carefully pulled it down off of its hook and observed it. It was soft. The material felt nice on his hands. Clank fumbled a bit as he unfolded the scarf, which turned out to be a bit shorter than he expected. They looked longer in the cartoons. Still watching for Ratchet, Clank wrapped the scarf around his neck and shoulders, feeling the warmth engulf him. He let the two ends of the scarf hang over his back to look a bit neater. Stepping in front of the wall-length mirror nearby, he looked to see how the scarf looked on him. It...actually didn't look too bad! The green went nicely with his green eyes, it was soft and comfortable, and the ends hanging him off the back looked like his….

Clank stepped a little closer to the mirror and looked at the scarf ends on his back. They hung off his shoulders and swayed and flowed whenever he moved. It was like he had ribbons attached to his back. Like the ones he had in his Zoni form. It was like he was bringing his Zoni form to his robot form. But...was that a good thing or a bad thing? Either way, the scarf still looked nice on him and he did indeed like it. But it wasn't like he had the money to buy it-

"Do you want that?"

"OH!" Clank nearly jumped out of his body as Ratchet suddenly appeared in the mirror alongside him. The robot quickly took the scarf off and shook his head. He was not going to make Ratchet spend money on him, though he did appreciate the offer. "O-Oh, no! You do not have to get it for me! I was just putting it back."

Ratchet rolled his eyes a bit at the robot's panicking and snatched the scarf from Clank's hands. He then grinned and shook his head as he went over to the register, "You're too polite for your own good, you know that?"

"Uhh...no, I do not know that," Clank replied, confused by what Ratchet meant. And he stayed that way until Ratchet finished purchasing everything and handed him the scarf back. He hesitated a bit because he felt bad that Ratchet spent money on him, but he was still grateful as he took it, "Thank you, Ratchet."

"Eh, you seemed to like it, so I would feel bad if I didn't let you get it. Now if you'll excuse me…" As Clank fiddled with his new scarf, Ratchet slipped into one of the changing rooms so he could put on his new clothes. The sooner he started wearing them, the better. Meanwhile Clank gently wrapped the scarf back around himself and set it like it was before so the ends would hang off of his back. The smiled with content. Now he really was like his old self again. Again, he didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. But he didn't have much time to think about it because Ratchet came out of the changing room, donning an orange and blue pilot suit shirt and brown boots. He adjusted his shirt a bit as he muttered, "This is going to take some getting used to…"

"That is certainly an interesting look," Clank said, putting a digit on his chin.

"Coming from the little floating green spirit," Ratchet retorted, putting his hex mount harness back on, "who is now a scarf-wearing robot."

"Fair enough," the robot said with a shrug, following Ratchet back outside.

The door closed behind them and they were back in the hustle and bustle of Metropolis life. Ratchet tugged at his shirt collar, hoping it would loosen the more he wore it. He held out his hand to Clank as he tried to get comfortable in his own clothing, "Come on, let's go look around a bit. Do a bit of sightseeing."

Clank smiled and reached out his own hand, "That sounds rather-!"

The hand that Clank was holding out froze into position not even coming in contact with Ratchet's. The robot's eyes went wide and his antenna began to blink rapidly as he felt a sudden rush of panic come over him. Something...he felt something...something that he knew how to feel. Something that told his instincts that things were about to go bad.

Ratchet looked at his friend with concern, "Clank? Hey, are you alright? Clank? Hey, pal."

No...wait...he wasn't feeling anything. He was sensing something. Something familiar. He frantically looked around the area searching for what it was he was sensing. It was no mistake in his systems. He knew that they were here. Where were they...where were they?! They had to be around here somewhere…!

Clank felt his whole body lock up in fear as he saw the familiar blue glow flying around in the distance. People unable to see them as they flew around the area, leaving sparkling trails of quantum energy behind them. Zoni. There were Zoni here. Clank took a small step back as the Zoni came closer. His father must have sent them to come looking for him. And they were closing in fast. The robot shook his head as he knew that he wasn't ready to leave. He was having fun being on different planets. He was having fun being friends with Ratchet. It could end here. He didn't want to go back yet! He-

The three Zoni that were flying around the area went right past him, not even sending a curious glance in his direction. Clank looked over his shoulder and watched the three move on to a different part of the area, completely unaware that their missing prince was right there. Clank couldn't believe it. They didn't sense him at all. The robot looked down at his body and raised his hands to look at them as well. Was it possible that his robot body blocked out his Zoni aura? It must have been true because he could not explain it any other way.

Clank's eyes were torn away from his hands as a hand was placed on his head and his head was turned towards Ratchet, who looked truly concerned, "Hey! Can you hear me?"

"A-Ah! Oh, um...apologies," Clank said, realizing that Ratchet had been calling out to him the entire time. He had drowned the Lombax out when he was in fear of the Zoni discovering him.

"Geez, you're getting distracted easily today," Ratchet said, folding his arms. "I thought that your systems froze. What were you turning your head to look at? It was when you did that that I started to get really concerned."

"I was, uhh...l-looking at…" The robot knew that he couldn't reveal the existence of the Zoni to Ratchet, even if they were friends. There some things that he just could not share with outsiders. So he went with the first excuse he could come up with. "I was looking at the...beautiful morning sky! We do not have skies where I live, so it truly is a breathtaking sight."

"Well...I mean, it is nice looking, but you looked like you saw a ghost or something. I thought you were going to freak out with that look on your face!"

"I...I am simply...getting used to how to portray expressions on this face. Forgive me if I make strange faces," Clank said, knowing that he was full of lies. This was the most flawed and illogical excuse he had ever heard. No way that Ratchet was going to buy that.

Ratchet stared at the robot for a few moments before he shrugged, "Alright, whatever you say. But I'm going to be keeping a better eye on you. I don't know what'll happen if that body of yours glitches out with that spirit version of you inside. But I can guess that it wouldn't be pretty."

"No, I suppose not…"

Clank kept a blank look on his face as Ratchet flipped him up onto his hex mount, not believing that Ratchet believed all of his lies. The tone in his voice had been unconvincing and what he said had made no sense in general, but the Lombax just had them go about their business like nothing happened. He knew that Ratchet trusted him, but he didn't think he trusted him that much. Maybe Ratchet was just gullible. That or he was just pretending to believe Clank so they could move on. Either or.

The three Zoni were still nearby, Clank could sense it. It was very obvious that Orvus now knew that he was no longer in the Clock and had sent out search parties to find him. It was rare for his father to send more than one Zoni at a time to each planet, so seeing a group of three made him feel rather tense. Things must have reached critical levels at the Clock and they were doing everything to bring their prince home. Clank felt a ping of guilt inside him knowing that the Zoni could not sense him, but he could see them looking for him. It just reminded him of what he left behind. Sigmund, his father, his subjects, they all must have been worried sick about him. What Orvus would do when they don't find him was beyond Clank's thinking, as this had never happened before. He wondered how far his father would go to find him?

"You sure you're doing okay? You're being pretty quiet. I wouldn't mind running you to the nearby robo-shack if you need a sister board scan," Ratchet asked, breaking the silence.

Clank shook himself out of his thoughts and reassured his friend, "Do not worry, I am fine. I have just been doing a lot of thinking about...th-this change in environment and lifestyle. It is a lot to take in, after all."

"That's reasonable since I'm adjusting to it, too. But if you need to talk about it, I'll hear you out. You're literally on my back so it's not like I'm going anywhere."

Clank pondered Ratchet's offer of talking about what was on his mind. It was true that there were some things he couldn't tell his friend, but the slight urge to feel homesick was beginning to creep up on him. The robot glanced at his friend, deciding on what he wanted to. "Ratchet, I-"

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

A sudden loud voice echoed through the area, nearly scaring the clean pants right off of Ratchet. The two looked at each other, both equally startled and confused. What was all that about? Both silently agreeing with seeing what the big deal was, Ratchet ran towards the source of the noise. As they drew closer, they noticed all of the noise of people talking and cheering, most likely from a crowd. It was when Ratchet turned out of the shopping district that they saw a group of people gathered around in the nearby park. They were all standing excitingly around a large object that was covered up with a tarp. A green insect looking person was on a stage with a podium in front of the large object, his voice matching the person's they heard earlier.

Ratchet moved into the back of the crowd to see what was going on. Whatever is it, people were excited, so it must have been something really cool. He stood sideways so Clank could see as well, as he was also curious to see what was under the tarp.

The green alien on the podium spoke up again, causing the crowd to quiet down, "Good morning people of Metropolis! Dallas Wannamaker, here. I must say that it was an honor to be chosen to speak for this tremendous event. Not all people have an excellent voice like this, after all."

Ratchet rolled his eyes a bit, "And not all people have an ego like that."

"Indeed, but at least he is confident in himself," Clank said with a shrug.

The crowd's excitement began to grow as two Fongoids got to both sides of the tarp and grabbed it, ready to pull it off. Ratchet and Clank waited with bated breath, ready to see what was under there. But Dallas had a few words to say before anything could happen. "Before we unveil this, I was told to say a few words for the person this statue is dedicated to. It says here that...is….is this written in crayon? Well, nonetheless, it says that this is a tribute to a true hero of the galaxy. A man of incredible talent, skill, and awesomeness. Someone who has gone through thick and thin to keep us all safe in our homes."

"Ooh, this is gonna be good!" Ratchet muttered excitedly to Clank, who nodded in agreement.

"A man so deadly that he defeated an entire fleet of...deadly...space pirate ghosts? Am I reading this correctly?" Dalla flipped through several of the cards in his hands. "Some of these don't even have words on them. This one just has a drawing of a duck. Hm. Well, most the words were spoken anyway, so let's move on! Ladies and gentlemen of Metropolis, I reveal to you the three hundred and seventh statue commemorating the greatest hero of our time: Captain Qwark!"

The tarp was pulled down and a large golden statue of a buff superhero, Captain Qwark, was revealed. The audience cheered for the newest commemoration of their favorite hero, but Ratchet and Clank seemed more bewildered then amazed.

"Captain Qwark?" The Lombax asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Three hundred and seventh?!" Clank exclaimed, more concerned with the number of statues this Qwark person had. But he turned his head when he noticed the tone of Ratchet's voice. "Do you know who this person is, Ratchet?"

"Kind of," Ratchet said with a small shrug. "He's on the radio every week, but I've never seen him in person. I remember idolizing him when I was younger, but I kind of grew out of it. I still have his poster in my garage, though."

"Is he really the 'greatest hero of our time'?" Clank asked more to himself than to Ratchet. He had never heard of Captain Qwark in his life, so him being such a large figure in the universe was truly something that was beyond his knowledge.

"Eh, people believe what they want to believe. He's all about appearing in commercials and advertising himself nowadays. The galaxy defense forces take care of everything now. But to think that they're still making statues of him. Even when there's over three hundred of them!" Ratchet chuckled and glanced at Clank. "Can you believe that?"

"It is rather preposterous, yes. But the people here seem happy about it, so it is not like it is doing any harm."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I've never seen a more excited crowd. At least some good comes out of these things."

Clank looked around at the crowd of excited fans and passerbys. Each person had a large smile on their face and many of them were cheering for the new statue of their hero. The excitement in the air seemed like it was contagious and everyone was catching it. It even put a smile on Ratchet and Clank's faces.

The sight of a father Fongoid and his son caught Clank's eye. The child was a small one and, by the looks of it, he could not see over the crowd of taller people. He jumped up and down trying to get a glimpse of the statue, but to no avail. The father noticed this and ruffled the child's hair before lifting him up and putting the child on his shoulders. The father smiled and chuckled as his son smiled and cheered for the new sight. Clank let out a small chuckle himself. He remembered doing something similar to that with his father back when he was a child. The memory was faint, but he remembered it just enough to be one of his fondest memories. When he was little, Orvus would help him climb up onto the pointed hat on his suit and he would simply latch on and go for a ride. But soon he became too big for it and they had to stop doing it. It was still a fun time when he did it when he was a child, though. It was one of the things that strengthened the bond between him and Orvus.

Clank felt the smile on his face deteriorate slowly and become a saddened frown. He kept staring at the father and child, watching them play together. The memories of him and Orvus playing together when he was young flashed before his eyes like a slideshow. Guilt and sadness clung to him and held on tight. For the first time during this whole trip, Clank took a moment to truly realize what it was he was doing. He was outside the Clock hanging off of a Lombax in a robot body wearing a scarf. Everything that he knew, everyone that he knew, every little thing he loved was left behind at the Clock. He was slowly yet surely becoming attached to two things that would cause conflict in him in the end. An uneasy feeling crept up to him.

The robot's processors were having a hard time compensating these new sudden feelings. The memories of his father while watching the Fongoid father and son playing with each other brought a sinking feeling in his 'gut'. There was guilt. There was pain. There was sorrow. There was regret. But there was also a sense of stubbornness. And through all of these emotions, he could only reach one logical conclusion that made him feel this way. Despite just starting on this new adventure and teaming up with Ratchet, he couldn't fight the thought that was trying to break loose in his mind: he was homesick.

He wanted to go home.

* * *

 **Hoo boy...filler chapters are the _worst_. **

**I mean, yeah, Ratchet and Clank's friendship was built throughout the chapter, but it was kind of a boring chapter overall. Don't worry, though, things get _much_ more interesting in the next chapter. It's one of the chapters I've been most excited to write, so look forward to it. Hm? Why should you look forward to it? Let's just say...we're going to take a look inside Orvus' head. Not literally. That would be gross. **

**Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, signing off!**


	13. The Memories We Make

**Just a little key to follow to avoid confusion during this chapter, when Orvus is inside the Mnemonic Station:**

 _Italics = present Orvus thoughts and speech_

Normal text = past/memory

 **Becuase the memories get pretty lengthy and it would be annoying to read them all in italics. So when Orvus is in the Mnemonic Chamber, that's how the text will work. Okay? Okay. Let's get this emotion rollercoaster rollin'.**

* * *

"Mmm…" Orvus hummed irritatingly as he scrolled through the reports that were documented by the numerous search parties sweeping through the Solana Galaxy, attempting to locate their lost prince. The elder Zoni's eyes burned with exhaustion and he was having trouble thinking clearly. It felt like he was only putting in half the effort when he spoke. "Batalia, negative. Novalis, negative. Aridia, negative. Oltanis, negative. Kerwan...negative."

"Those are a lot of negatives," Sigmund said, who had been quietly observing from the other side of the Orvus Chamber. He hadn't actually left the chamber since they sent the first search party group out, and neither had Orvus. They had been getting reports from the group of Zoni that were searching the many planets over in Solana, but each one had the same result as Orvus was reading: negative. Still no sign of XJ-0461.

Orvus placed a hand on his forehead and tossed the datapad onto the control console, shaking his head as a look of bewilderment came onto his face, "This is simply unbelievable. How in the cosmos have we not found him yet? How far could he possibly get in just two days?"

Sigmund pulled up his screen and uploaded the Zoni's reports to his computer so he could take a look at them himself. "Your son is one smart cookie, that's for sure. Looks like he had this more planned out than we thought. That or he's just really good at hiding."

"My stars...I do wish that he could just be found and this whole ordeal can be over. I haven't felt this drained since I brought XJ-0461 to life." The Zoni rubbed his large eyes, attempting to wake up a bit. He had been awake this whole time and his worry had been wearing him down. Keeping his eyes open was becoming a chore itself. But his panic was the one thing keeping him awake. He grabbed the datapad and scrolled through the list again. "The search parties have moved on to Rilgar, Quartu, and Daxx. I do not know what he would be doing on any of those planets, but we cannot afford to leave a single planet unchecked."

"Hey, sir? What happens if we don't find him on any of the planets in the Solana galaxy? It's not that I don't think we will, I just want to know what the plan is in case it does happen."

"Then we move on to the next galaxy. Bogon, perhaps. We will scour ever planet in the omniverse if we must. As long as we find my son, it will be worth it…"

The Zoni trailed off and he rubbed the side of his head tiredly. He was completely exhausted, but every fiber of his energized being was telling him to stay awake for the sake of his son, and it was what he planned on doing. His son came before his rest. But it seemed that Sigmund thought otherwise, as he floated over and got Orvus' attention. The robot knew that his boss was overcome with worry for his lost child, but he had to take a break at some point. Orvus looked like he was going to collapse at any moment.

Sigmund took the datapad into his own hands and tried to keep the tired Zoni's attention, "Sir, you really need to get some rest. You look exhausted. More exhausted than I've ever seen you look before."

"I assure you, I am fine," Orvus said.

"Sorry to disagree with you, sir, but you're not fine. You're working yourself to death trying to look for your son. And while that it understandable and noble of you, you need to think about your own health, too." Sigmund held up the datapad and tapped on it, "I'll take care of things here. Remember, I want to find XJ-0461 as much as you do, so it's not like I won't be as cautious as you are. I've got everything covered."

As much as he wanted to argue and stand his ground, Orvus knew for a fact that Sigmund was right. He knew that he was exhausted and he knew that he was working himself to death. The Zoni hadn't felt this terrible in a long time. Besides, he didn't know how much longer he would be able to keep himself awake. It would probably be for the best to simply retire for the time being instead of eventually falling on the floor with exhaustion.

Orvus sighed and glanced at the exit of the Orvus Chamber. Mnemonic Station Iota was nearby, just a few chambers down, so that was probably going to be his resting place. He looked at Sigmund and nodded, "Very well. I will retire to Mnemonic Station Iota for a few hours. But if anything comes up, please come and get me immediately."

"Of course I will. Now go get some rest, sir. I'll make sure to keep an eye on the reports."

"Thank you, Sigmund. I appreciate you looking out for me."

"Eh, it's all part of the job."

Orvus smiled for the first time in what felt like eons and gently set his Chronoscepter down against the main console. He averted his eyes to avoid looking at XJ-0461's Chronoscepter and hovered in a bit of a hurry out of the Orvus Chamber, offering Sigmund a small wave as he left. The last thing he needed to do was look at one of his son's possessions and become riddled with more guilt and anger and despair before he rested.

The Zoni then realize that he was going to Mnemonic Station Iota, the same station that his son had made a pun about a few days earlier. The feelings that he didn't want to feel were now creeping up on him. He gave another sigh, feeling defeated. He simply could not win no matter what the circumstances were.

Practically half asleep when he arrived in the chamber, Mnemonic Station Iota was glimmering with the same gold and blue as the rest of the Clock. It was the last Mnemonic Station built before the completion of the Great Clock eons ago, but it still functioned like the rest of its brethren despite its slightly younger age. It would be the perfect place for Orvus to rest. Though, he didn't simply plan to go completely "lights out" when he went inside. That would simply be a bore. If he was going to rest, the least he could do was take a trip inside his own mind and head down the literal memory lane. It would be like having controlled dreams that he could feel nostalgic over.

Orvus couldn't remember the last time he visited his memories, as he had been so busy for the past twenty years that he simply didn't have the time to explore his own memory banks. And all of the memories he had been making with his son satisfied him in a way that he simply didn't have the need to look over old ones. But now that XJ-0461 was missing...perhaps some of his fresher memories could help feel the void he currently had inside him. Even if it was slightly.

The glass casing of Mnemonic Station Iota hissed and slid open to allow its creator inside. A beam of light came down the middle to shine upon whoever would lay dormant in its casing. Orvus floated inside and took his position underneath the light, closing his eyes and allowing the chamber to open the path to his memory banks, Simply closing his eyes felt nice, and the exhausted burning was now stopping. The Zoni's consciousness began slipping away from him. The smallest smile came onto his face as he became completely knocked out, now oblivious to the waking world.

 _Orvus could feel himself floating around his own mind. This was the normal drill, so he knew exactly what to do. He raised his hand and snapped his fingers, the sound echoing throughout the seemingly dark place. One by one, a series of lights lined up on both sides of him, each one taking the shape of a sphere. This wasn't how every person's memories looked, but its how Orvus liked his to look. Each one was like a spherical treasure and a light to guide him back to the past. That was how it was in his memory banks: the past became the present and the present became the future._

 _He glanced through several of his memories, trying to decide which one he wanted to look at first. There was a point in the line that started the time of when he attempted to create his large number of children. Four hundred and sixty-one memories, all lined up. Orvus frowned as he went past some of them. There were memories in his memory banks that he simply wished he could get rid of or at least stop remembering altogether. The journey to creating XJ-0461 was a very rough one. One that he hadn't told his son much about._

 _With hesitation, Orvus reached toward to observe one of them. Knowing that he had successfully created his son, he wondered how he would feel watching one of his failures. They were memories that haunted him, but he still felt the need to move on from all of the children that he failed. Perhaps just a peek at one of them wouldn't hurt?_

 _Taking a deep breath and mentally preparing himself, Orvus grabbed one of the memory spheres and looked inside. The area around him became the familiar Orvus Chamber, and he could see himself through his own eyes. Of course, he remembered this day. But was he prepared to watch something like this all over again?_

 **~Memory: XJ-0332~**

Orvus pushed all of his energy into the Great Clock's core, his heart racing and his head pounding. He could feel it...he could feel something! This was working, right? Was today finally the day that his son was going to be born?

He had spent an almost sleepless week balancing out a new equation for stabilizing a Zoni offspring. After three hundred tries, he thought that this was going to be the end of the line. But, if his calculations were correct, he would give enough energy to stabilize his son's form and make him into a living being. He was confident about this one, more confident than he had been before about one of his children. XJ-0332 was going to be born today. He was going to become a father today.

Sigmund watched worryingly below, not sure how this child was going to turn out. Orvus seemed really confident with his new breakthrough on balancing quantum energy and lifeforce from across the cosmos. But he couldn't help but worry. Orvus always exhausted himself whenever he tried to make his son and it couldn't be good for his health. He was ready to help his boss the moment he asked for it.

Taking deep breaths, Orvus pushed the rest of the lifeforce out of him and felt like that the entire Great Clock was on his back. An urge to fall to the ground below came over him, but he knew that he had to finish this. Preparing himself, the Zoni reached forward and grabbed the swirling quantum energy and lifeforce and hugged it with his entire body, praying it would stay. What felt like a small explosion erupted from the swirl and Orvus was nearly sent plummeting to the ground. He let out a yelp of surprise and pain, stopping himself from hitting the ground.

Sigmund hurried over, "Sir! Are you alright?"

"I...I-I am fine, Sigmund," Orvus said weakly, still clutching whatever he had now to his chest. "All that matters is...my son is…"

"Eh...geh…"

At the sound of noise, Orvus and Sigmund looked at each other and then down at what Orvus was holding in his hands. The two had looks of astonishment on their faces as they saw what appeared to be an orb taking the shape of a Zoni child. Orvus could feel himself becoming overcome with joy.

"Oh...oh my stars…"

"You...you did it, sir...you did it!"

"I...I did! I really...did…" Orvus felt his voice become quiet. He stared at his child with confusion, wondering what could be putting him off. He frowned, something was wrong. He couldn't explain it, but...something was wrong. The child squirmed a bit in his grasp, seemingly taking shape, but a sudden fluctuation in the child's form startled Orvus. The Zoni slowly shook his head, "Oh no…"

The Zoni child's form began to fluctuate and pulse, uncomfortable and distressed noises beginning to come from him. Sigmund was about to ask what the problem is, but hearing the child's noises somewhat told him what was happening. Orvus tried to calm his child, thinking that this was merely just due to the child being upset, but XJ-0332 kept pulsing and whining. Orvus felt his breathing become heavier. It couldn't end here. It couldn't. His eyes went wide as the child seemingly glitched out of his hands, its voice becoming distorted.

XJ-0332 fell to the ground, his body pulsating violently and his voice being horribly distorted as he cried out in pain. Orvus quickly planted himself over the miserable child and grabbed hold of his son, holding him close and tight. He shook his head as he tried to block out his son's suffering.

"No, please stay with me! We were so close! We were so-" In a large burst of energy, XJ-0332's form finally collapsed on itself and selfdestructed, taking the young Zoni's life with it. Orvus's was practically holding on to thin air are his turquoise eyes went wide, distraught as he was forced to bear witness the death of another one of his children. He slowly lowered his arms as he reluctantly muttered the end of his sentence, "...close..."

Sigmund watched in horror as the child's particles dissipated, and remaining traces of quantum energy went back into the Great Clock's core. The robot looked at Orvus, who looked too distraught to do anything besides stay in the same position. Sigmund tried to say something. Anything. "Orvus...sir...I-I'm so sorry...I don't."

Orvus slowly pushed himself off the ground, his turquoise eyes empty. He frowned and didn't turn to look at Sigmund. "I'm...so sorry that you had to see that, Sigmund. XJ-0332 was too unstable. I should have seen the signs sooner."

The elder Zoni took a deep breath as an attempt to gather himself, but he still felt awful on the inside. He shook his head and floated towards the exit. "I am sorry, my son. Perhaps next time…"

 _Orvus placed a hand on his chest, closing his eyes and turning away from the memory. After all this time, it still hurt. In hindsight, he should have handled the situation more delicately. Yelling at his dying son to stay with him was not an appropriate move. He was simply overcome with panic and grief that he wasn't able to think straight in that tense moment. But, despite how horrible he felt about that day, he did feel ever so slightly better knowing that he did manage to create a son years later. With hope and luck, he would be able to atone for the sins he committed against all of his children that he failed._

 _Wanting the feeling of dread to leave him, Orvus decided to travel down to the more recent years of memories, during the years that XJ-0461 was growing up. With his son now missing, these memories were the only way for him to see the child's face. If he was going to be doing that, then he may re-live some of XJ-0461's childhood memories. He hoped that it would distract him from the fact that he had been arguing with his son and now XJ-0461 was nowhere to be found. Like he thought before, there was a void in him that needed to be filled, and these memories might provide him with the littlest bit of satisfaction. Until the Zoni found XJ-0461, it was the only way. Now...which memory to choose…_

Orvus picked up a random memory and looked inside. How about this memory? He took a peek and-

 **~Memory: Life, Pride, and Time~**

"No, don't worry about me! Get Rho, find a way to gather my son, and get out of here before-XJ-0461!"

When Sigmund tried to help Orvus and Orvus gave his command to leave, XJ-0461 was approached by another Terratrope that was hidden in the nearby plant life, watching the entire situation unfold. When the other Terratrope failed to get its glowing green prey, the other one took it upon itself to attack XJ-0461. Orvus watched and horror and Sigmund barely had time to turn around and react when the Terratrope jumped behind XJ-0461, opened its jaws and thrust them upwards, forming two parallel cuts in XJ-0461's back. The child flew forward and landed on the ground, not moving.

 _Orvus quickly pulled out of the memory and shook his head. Not that one! Anything but that one! While it was definitely a memorable moment, as that attack was what gave XJ-0461 the ribbons on his back, he didn't want to watch that horrendous experience again. He had already brought his mood down with the previous memory he watched, he needed to watch one that was a bit more light-hearted._

 _Moving down the line into XJ-0461 adolescent years, Orvus stopped at one that he was very familiar with. He smiled as he picked up the memory sphere. This was one that he remembered very well, and one that would stay with him until the day he passed on. Knowing that this was the one that he wanted to see, the Zoni looked inside and viewed the memory, the area becoming one of the planet rooms in the Great Clock._

 **~Memory: First Chronoscepter Lesson~**

Young XJ-0461 struggled to carry the Chronoscepter properly. He attempted to hold it upright in one hand like his father did, but it was too heavy for him to do so. He nearly dropped it several times, each time he apologized for.

Orvus noticed his son's struggle and smiled, "You do not have to hold it like me. When you're older, you'll have the strength to carry it in one hand. Let's keep two hands on it for the meantime."

"Okay," XJ-0461 said, defeated. He put both hands on the Chronoscepter and carried it sideways. But the child was still beaming, unable to keep his glee in knowing that he had his very own Chronoscepter now. The complexity of it fascinated him and he just wanted to hold onto it forever. But when he managed to take his eyes off it, he turned to his father. "Dad, why did you bring me in here?"

They were in one of the Polaris planet rooms, which was lined with planet models that were scattered across, of course, the Polaris galaxy. Orvus was leading his son to one of the many models, a plan hiding up his sleeve. If he was going to give his son a Chronoscepter, then it was best to start teaching him how to use it. And because of that, he created a very special lesson in one of the models. He felt excited thinking about it.

Orvus turned around as he brought XJ-0461 to the specific model he was looking for, "XJ-0461, I was more than happy to give you your Chronoscepter. But, owning one comes with its own responsibilities. If you are going to own it, then you are going to have to learn how to use it."

"You are going to show me how to use my Chronoscepter?" The child ask, looking at his staff. He smiled, "This will be an interesting experience."

"Indeed, it will. And this is where your first lesson will take place." The two looked at the planet model they were at. Orvus smiled and admired it, revealing what it was to his clueless child. "Ahh, the Kreeli Comet. Beautiful isn't it? But, what you don't know is that I have programmed this model to act as though the comet has fallen prey to temporal rifts. As caretaker, it is up to you to fix it."

"This is what you do, right? With your Chronoscepter?"

"That's correct. The Clock's primary function is to maintain temporal normality. When that normality is threatened, you must act to repair it immediately. So I will have fake temporal anomalies appear on here, and you will use your Chronoscepter to fix them. Here, let me show you what you must do to prepare yourself." Orvus brought his son down to the platform in front of the model to stand on. He adjusted XJ-0461's stance and helped him hold the Chronoscepter in a comfortable position. "There, that should do it. Are you ready?"

"As ready as I will ever be," XJ-0461 said with confidence.

"Wonderful! I am about to start it. When the rifts appear, focus your Chronoscepter's beam to repair them. And be careful to not blast rifts that you've already repaired, as that will break them again."

XJ-0461 prepared himself. He gripped his Chronoscepter and eyed the Kreeli Comet like it was his prey. He remembered his father telling him what he did as a Senior Caretaker. As Orvus' son, he would have to do this as his own job one day. The more practice he got in during his lifetime, the better. He would become the best caretaker to ever...care...take. The child shook himself out of his confusing thoughts and readied his staff as the model booted up.

Tiny pillars of yellow light appeared all over the comet, the ones pointing at XJ-0461 seemed to reach toward him as he prepared to repair them. Orvus hovered to the side to watch his son at work (and so he wouldn't be hit by the beam).

"Alright, my dear boy, teach these time anomalies a thing or two!" He pointed to XJ-0461's Chronoscepter. "Simply focus the beam on them. Channel your power into the scepter and let it help you."

"Okay…" XJ-0461 did as his father said and channeled his energy into the Chronoscepter, the quantum energy core pulsating. It flashed with a bright light before letting loose a blue beam that focused on the surface of the model. However, the beam came with such energy that it took the child by surprise and he nearly lost control of it. "Wh-Whoa! Dad!"

"Everything is fine, do not worry. The beam just has a bit of a kick to it. You get used to it after a few times. Regain control and focus the beam on the time anomalies," Orvus said.

XJ-0461 grabbed hold of his Chronoscepter again and held it tight, making sure that it wouldn't go flying out of his hands. The power coming from it was intense, it almost felt like it was trying to push him away. The Chronoscepter's power was more than he expected it to be. Orvus made wielding it look so easy.

Believing that he had things under control, XJ-0461 adjusted the beam so it blasted one of the time anomalies. It let out a small chime as it went from yellow to light blue, signifying that it was fixed. XJ-0461 smiled in victory, then went on to the other one, which was rapidly fixed as well.

"Fantastic work, XJ-0461!" Orvus said proudly. He tapped into the model's programming and brought up some more severe anomalies, glowing orange and red. "Let's see if you can handle something a bit more intense."

"These will be no problem," XJ-0461 said, prepared for anything these anomalies would dish out at him.

Believing that these would be no problem for him, XJ-0461 focused his Chronoscepter's beams on one of the red anomalies. He waited to hear the chime of it being restored, but he frowned when they didn't come. That was...weird. He pushed his Chronoscepter to put out more energy, but he felt the scepter pushing back. The red anomaly started to fluctuate and it pushed the Chronoscepter's beam back.

XJ-0461 let out a distressed cry, "Ah! I cannot fix it! Dad!"

"Calm down, son. Those severe anomalies might be too much for you to handle. Try the orange ones."

"Alright, I'll…" XJ-0461 became very cautious as he ripped the beam away from the red anomaly and moved on to the orange anomaly. Hopefully this would give him an easier time.

"GAH!"

Or do the same thing as the red anomaly.

XJ-0461 felt the Chronoscepter pushing back on him as the anomaly resisted his power. It fought against him and his scepter, so much so that the child was pushed off the pedestal he was standing on and sent flying back. The Chronoscepter went flying out of his hand and he became disoriented.

Orvus rushed over to his son to see if he was alright. He steadied the child, "XJ-0461, are you alright?"

"I...believe so…" XJ-0461 said, shaking his head. "What happened?"

"It appears that the severe anomalies were too much for you. As of now, you are simply not strong enough to handle something of that intensity. I'm sorry for putting you through that. If I had known, I would have waited," Orvus said with a frown.

"So...you are saying that I am too weak to handle my Chronoscepter…?" The child asked sadly. He shook his head before Orvus could speak again, "I am sorry, dad. I failed you and your lesson."

"No no no, I do not think that you failed me in the least bit, XJ-0461." The elder Zoni said. He grabbed his son's shoulders, "Deep down I knew that you were too young to handle time anomalies. But you did not fail nor are you weak. You just need to grow into your Senior Caretaker duties, that is all. And you repaired those first-time anomalies like they were nothing, on your first try no less."

Orvus picked up his son's Chronoscepter and handed it back to him, "We just have to remember to not rush this. The more you grow, the more your skill and power will grow. Then one day you'll be repairing real-time anomalies like there's nothing to it."

XJ-0461 let out a small sigh, feeling a bit disappointed in himself that he wasn't able to take care of those anomalies. But what his father said was right. He would have to grow into his abilities first. He just couldn't wait for that day to come. Still, he took his Chronoscepter back and nodded, "I suppose we all have to start somewhere, right?"

"Right."

 _Orvus smiled as the memory faded away and he held it in his hands once again. They both learned an important lesson that day. XJ-0461 would need to grow and become his own person before handling the duties of a Senior Caretaker. Back then he could barely hold his Chronoscepter. And now he would clean up anomalies so fast that Orvus could barely wrap his head around it. His son had come so far since he was a child. This memory helped him remind him of that. And while his son had some confidence issues back then, he was proud to know that XJ-0461 was a strong and independent Zoni nowadays. So strong that he followed his urge to...run away…_

 _Orvus shook his head. This was not the time to be thinking about that. There were other ways he could think about how far his son has come as a Zoni. Or rather remember. Somewhere in these memories was a conversation Orvus had with his son a few months ago. One that he held very dear to his heart._

 _The elder Zoni looked through his more recent memories, trying to find the specific one that he wanted. Tracing his memories back to months ago instead of years, he picked out the one that he was looking for. Just like before, he looked into the memory and the area around him changed. It was one of the outer rims of the Great Clock that stared out into the great beyond of space. XJ-0461 and Orvus were sitting on the very edge, nearly floating in the cosmos._

 **~Memory: Our Place in the Universe~**

XJ-0461 held on to his Chronoscepter and placed his chin on top. His shimmering green eyes looked into the black and blue void of space. "It really is massive."

"Indeed it is," Orvus said in agreement.

"How much of it have you been to?" The younger Zoni asked, glancing at his father.

"I've been to countless planets in a variety of systems across three galaxies. But what I have explored only accounts for a small amount of what this universe holds. This multicolored void is as big as life itself."

"Perhaps I will explore what you have not in the future." XJ-0461 smiled, thinking about what the universe held in store for him. He could reach out and grab hold of the void and let it take him. He wanted to explore. Ever since he was a child he was fascinated with what the universe had to offer. It was only a matter of time before he could see it for himself.

However, a small frown came onto Orvus' face, but he agreed with his son nonetheless, not wanting to shut down the mood. "Perhaps."

The young Zoni took his chin off of his Chronoscepter and fully turned his head to his father, "When was the last time you were out there? From what I can remember, you have stayed here since I was a child."

To be completely truthful, Orvus was not comfortable with this question. The last time he was out of the Clock...it was a memory that he didn't want to think about. And he surely did not want to tell his son about it. So, not wanting to reveal anything horrid, Orvus twisted the truth. "The last time I was outside of the Clock was about...twenty years ago. But, when I decided to start creating an offspring, I decided that it would be best to stay in the Clock. After all, what kind of father would I be if I created a son and then left him?"

"You do not have to stay in the Clock for my sake, father," XJ-0461 attempted to argue. "I am capable of taking care of myself, you know this. If you wish to leave the Clock for a day or two, I will not be upset or angry."

"That is a nice thought, but...no." Orvus said quietly. XJ-0461 frowned and looked at his father sadly. Orvus noticed this and quickly dismissed what his son was thinking, "O-Oh, but it is not because I feel the need to stay here and watch over you. I just…" the elder Zoni tried to bring the conversation back up, "I just believe that this is the place where I belong. My place in the universe is not somewhere out in the cosmos, it is here in the Great Clock, ruling over the Zoni, keeping time stable, and attending to be duties as king of the Zoni."

"Your place in the universe…?"

"Yes. Everything created in the omniverse has a duty to fulfill. Whether it be Tetramites working to build their hive or Terachnoids creating new technology and making breakthroughs in science, everything has a place. And mine is here, tending to my duties and raising you to take my place."

"So...does that mean that my place in the universe is here, too?" XJ-0461 asked, hiding a hint of worry in the back of his voice.

"I would answer yes, but it is honestly too early to decide that. You are still a child among our race. While you will have to take on the responsibilities that I currently handle, when the time comes, you will discover where your place in the universe is."

"I suppose you are right." The young Zoni looked back into the dark void. Find his place in the universe...what would that be like? And...what if it wasn't in the Great Clock. There were too many questions about this to answer. "Will you be able to help me find my place if I need it?"

"Of course, son," Orvus said, placing a hand on XJ-0461's shoulder.

 _The memory faded away and formed back in Orvus' hands. He was smiling a bit. The conversation may have been short, but it was a deep subject that he hoped to help his son with some day. Finding one's place in the universe was not always an easy task. For some, it was laid out in front of them and formed an easy-to-follow path. But for others, their place was hidden in the farthest reaches of the galaxies, waiting to be found at the right time._

 _A shadow of guilt crept up on Orvus' back as he realized something about the memory, or rather about his past self. When XJ-0461 asked about the last time he was out of the Clock, he did lie a fair bit. While Orvus did have the intention of watching his son grow over the years, that alone wasn't what was keeping him inside the Great Clock. For fifteen years he had been trying to convince himself that it was the reason, but he knew better. He knew the truth. And that truth he had been hiding from XJ-0461 all his life._

 _He had come close to telling XJ-0461 that he was being dishonest, but it was only when his son was a mere infant at several months old. But, even if he did tell his son the truth then, it would have mattered because XJ-0461 wouldn't be able to remember it because it was so young. It was a sad time for Orvus in those years. And even today he didn't have the guts to tell his son what happened._

 _Orvus scrolled down the line of memories and came across the one he was thinking about. It was packed in with XJ-0461's baby memories, within a year after he was born. The Zoni gave a sad sigh, thinking that he might as well take a look while he was thinking about it. Activating the memory, Orvus looked inside and saw his past self outside the Orvus Chamber holding his infant son. A solemn look on his face as he pondered something tragic._

 **~Memory: I'm Sorry~**

Orvus looked over his kingdom with sad and tired eyes. Zoni flew back and forth, tending what needed to be tended to around the place that they called home. Ribbons of quantum energy flowed throughout the place, providing energy where it was needed. His kingdom really was a magnificent place. It was a place that he didn't mind spending the rest of his days in this universe.

In his arms, an infant XJ-0461 sat peacefully, looking up at his father with his large eyes, being content as usual. Though there was something bothering the child, he was too interested in what his father was doing to notice. He reached up and smacked his father's chest in order to get his attention. Orvus acknowledged his child's need for attention and gently grabbed the infant's hand.

"Forgive me for being so quiet, XJ-0461. Daddy is just...thinking. I do that a lot nowadays."

"Bah!" Was all XJ-0461 could says, as he hadn't learned how to say any proper words yet.

"Very insightful," Orvus joked, trying to lighten the mood a bit. But not even his sense of humor was coming through for him. All he could think about was...that day. A day that no one in the Clock dared to bring up. Not around Orvus, at least, and he appreciated that. He closed his eyes and frowned, "You do not know this, son, but I did something...awful. My subjects and Sigmund assure me that I had no control over the situation, but despite the logic behind it, I cannot help but think that it was entirely my fault. I am supposed to protect my subjects. What kind of leader am I for...abandoning them like that? I had no control over it."

"Ehh…" the child said, listening to his father despite not understanding.

Orvus continued, happy that there was just someone there to listen to him. "When it was over, the only thing I could feel was pain, grief, and guilt. I still feel it to this day. But, when I thought of the idea to start creating an offspring, I thought that the joy of having a child would free me from that dark prison. But it only lessened the pain. I was so happy when I was able to stabilize you and let you live. But, in a way, I partially ended up using you to help my own emotional state…"

Orvus stopped for a moment to gather himself. This was a tough thing for him to talk about. It was something that he had barely discussed with anyone, even Sigmund. It was just too much for him to think about it. But that didn't excuse what he was doing. His son didn't deserve to be used like this. He loved his son, he really did, but part of him felt guilty for trying to have his son help save him from his grief.

"I have not been completely sincere with you or myself. I thought that, if I managed to create you, the pain would finally stop. But..." Orvus sighed and shook his head slowly. He spoke in a quiet voice, "I have been a bad father, XJ-0461."

XJ-0461 could feel the solemn tone coming from his father. Unsettled, the young Zoni fussed and let out some distressed cries. Orvus frowned and his eyes went a bit wide as he realized what he was doing.

"O-Oh! I'm sorry, my son. I didn't mean to feed you negative energy..." The elder Zoni cursed himself for giving off such a strong negative aura. With a good portion of willpower, he tried to retract the negative energy so his son wouldn't be affected by it. The child let out a few more cries before calming down. Orvus held his son close and spoke with regret. "I'm so sorry that I did that to you. I suppose that...for the sake of you...I will have to repress my grief. Grieving over what happened won't fix it, after all. You cannot change the past."

The child let out more noises, this time a bit happier because he was no longer sensing the negative energy. But Orvus wasn't paying attention. He glanced at the Orvus Chamber and frowned again, "And time must not be tampered with, no matter how much you want the past to change."

 _Orvus took a deep breath and tried to hold himself together as he put the memory back. That one was a hard one to watch. After all of this time and all of the bonding he had done with his son, he still felt bad for that day. Of course, he no longer thought that he was merely using his son, but he still regretted that train of thought. And to feed his infant child negative energy and making him cry...Orvus shook his head and floated away from the memory, wanting to get away from it._

 _It was true that what happened twenty years ago still hurt him, but not as nearly as much as it did back then, when it was still too fresh in his mind. But the effects of it were still lingering to this day. The disruption in the Zoni Dimension was caused by what happened on Quantos and the dimension and the Zoni who lived there were still horrified about what happened. Orvus didn't think much about the incident nowadays compared to how often he thought about it years ago. He had learned to cope with his grief by raising his son for the past fifteen years, and it definitely helped. Though XJ-0461 running away was definitely bringing back some bad memories._

 _Speaking of which, Orvus couldn't help but glance as a very certain memory that he tried his best to ignore this entire time. One that sat and appeared just like all of the memories but still stuck out like a sore thumb. Orvus turned to it, shooting it a glare. The memory he was trying to forget during those twenty years and was still trying to forget to this very day. His hand turned into a fist as he tried his best not to think about it. Coward...he was such a coward. He was a coward back then and he was a coward now. Even with the strength his son gave him, he…_

 _With a thought in mind, Orvus went over to the awful memory and stared down at it. The strength his son gave him...maybe...if he could gather up the courage to…?_

 _The elder Zoni picked up the memory. It had been two decades since it happened. Just like his son, he had grown since then. The confidence and strength that raising XJ-0461 gave him made him a much more confident person. Perhaps, after all this time, he could bear to take a look at it? It wasn't like the memory was going to go anywhere anytime soon. Maybe, with his newfound strength that came from being a father and recovering over the years, he could relive what happened and attempt to reflect on it instead of just running away and trying to forget about it._

 _He thought that he was insane for doing this after all the effort he put into trying to forget this event. He put so much work towards repressing it that the memory's name was corrupted. It looked like he put more damage on this memory than expected. Still, he wanted to give it a try. Gathering every ounce of courage that he had, he slowly looked into the memory, his mind yelling at him to close his eyes and now watch. Of course, Orvus ignored this and let the area around him change. It was gray and raining. There was smoke. Quantos had never looked so terrible before._

 **~Memory: N̷͍̯̟̭ͫ̒̂̃́ȧ͕̹͚̰̺͙͊̊͌̐̾m͔̻̤͇͇̱̝̈́ͦ̅̀e̐̓҉̯͈ ̛̣̳̪͚̻̤̦͕͌͘͟N̾̉ͫͮͦ͏̙̘͓͚̯̤̩̭o͑̏̂́҉̨̩̭͈͖t͍̪͈̜̿ͪ̈ͨ ̜̙̮͕̦̓̆ͧ̐F̍ͮ̽ͦ͒҉̵̹͍̠̟͢ö̡̧̺̓͡u̮̞̦͚ͩͨ̎̄ͩͥ͜n̢͕̠̱̤̯͖̫ͨ̿͛ͫ̈̊͂̋d͓̳̟̽ͪ̿͟~**

Orvus let out strained breaths. He pushed himself out of the mud, clumps of it falling off of his suit. The rain poured on him hard and soaked him. He was back...he was finally back...and everything was silent. Unable to hover, he looked up to see what happened when he was gone. Were any of them left? They would have to regroup and get back to the Clock. But they would have to check on the Fongoids before they left. And there were some that would need healing before...before...

The elder Zoni looked around, noticing that he wasn't sensing anything. There was nothing here. The only thing he could make out in the rain were piles...of...suits...

 _"No..."_

Pieces of Zoni suits laid scattered across the area. They looked like that they were ripped from their bodies piece by piece. And the Zoni themselves were nowhere to be found.

 _"No, please..."_

Orvus's eyes went wide and he began to breathe heavily. No. It couldn't be. Those Zoni. They were...they were...

 _"I...cannot..."_

They were all dead.

 _"I...I CANNOT DO THIS."_

 _With great force, Orvus ripped himself out of the memory and threw it aside as hard as he could._ In a rush of panic and fear, _Orvus decided that it was time to get out of the Mnemonic Station. He yelled out the words to end this sequence and to be released from the station._

 _"Program terminated!"_

Mnemonic Station Iota awakened Orvus from his slumber and opened up to release him. The elder Zoni was very quick to get out and go all the way to the other side of the room. He breathed heavily as his adrenaline and fear rush began to die down, leaving him room to start calming himself. His eyes were still wide and he placed a hand on the wall to keep himself steady. He shook his head as he thought about what just happened. He was wrong. He wasn't ready to relive that memory. The pain of it all was beginning to return. He could feel every once of joy that he ever felt in the past twenty years begin to slip away as he saw the pieces of Zoni suits laying across the mud, empty and lifeless. Orvus tried to shake his the images out of his head, but he couldn't. He couldn't forget what happened. He...wasn't...strong enough…to get over it...

Orvus felt tears welling up in his eyes and he closed them, lowering his head. He spoke out loud even though there was no one there to listen to him.

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry I wasn't...there…to protect you...I am so sorry..."

The elder Zoni stayed there and grieved, wanting to be saved from this misery and to just have the memory erased from his conscience. If he had arrived at the Clock in six minutes it would have been erased and he could correct the past, but he was too weak at the time to do anything. Those Zoni...all of those poor, innocent Zoni. They were dead. They were dead because of _him_. And he would never forgive himself for as long as he lived.

* * *

 **Alright everyone, the feels train is rolling into the station. Please keep your hands in feet in the vehicle and do not get up until the ride has come to a complete stop. Thank you for riding Chapter 13 of Ethereal Gates.**

 **Intense chapter, eh? This is a chapter I've been looking forward to writing for a while. I love going in-depth into characters and their past. And you finally got to look at Orvus' inner turmoil. He's been holding a lot of things in a telling lies that he didn't want to tell. Oh yeah, and the whole dead Zoni thing on Quantos...*clears throat***

 **Also, "Life, Pride, and Time" is an actual oneshot that you can read. I just threw it in as a cool easter egg. Get it? Cuz it's Easter. Ha!**

 **Make sure to leave a review while picking up your complimentary toaster!**

 **This is Amberdiamondswords, Lordess of Diamond Swordness, signing off!**


End file.
